Phone tapping case: Clean cheat for IPS Rashmi Shukla

Pune Police has filed a “Closure Report” in the court against the then Police Commissioner Rashmi Shukla for tapping the phones of Nana Patole, Bachchu Kadu, former MP Sanjay Kakade, former MLA Ashish Deshmukh of Maha Vikas Aghadi government, it has been confirmed by senior police officers. .

According to the report of the High Level Committee after the censure in the Monsoon Session of the Legislature, the case was registered against Shukla after the government gave an order to file a case against him in February 2021.

When the then Mahavikas Aghadi was in power in the state, they tapped the phones of Congress state president Nana Patole “Amjad Khan”, State Minister for School Education Bachchu Kadu “Samsher Bahadur Shaikh” along with former MP Sanjay Kakade, former MLA Ashish Deshmukh by various names. Shukla was accused of passing on the conversations to senior leaders in the BJP Sena government when he was the Commissioner of the State Intelligence Department (SID).

After the question was raised in the monsoon session of the legislature, the then Director General of Police Sanjay Pandey was asked to conduct a thorough investigation and submit a report on the matter. After receiving the report of the concerned committee, a case was registered against Shukla in Bundagarden police station. A case was registered against Shukla for illegal telephone surveillance (phone tapping) under Section 26 of the Indian Telegraph Act. It was being investigated by the crime branch.

Meanwhile, after the change of power in the state, the Shinde-Fadnavis government had clarified that the investigation of the related case would be done through the Central Crime Investigation Department. Meanwhile, senior police officials informed that the Pune Police has submitted a “closure report” in the court in this case.

It was mentioned in the report that Shukla had tapped the phones of political leaders and provided them to the BJP and also that Shukla had misused his position in Pune for illegal surveillance (phone tapping). Accordingly, a case was registered at Bundagarden Police Station. The investigation of this crime was to be started by the police officers of the crime branch. Police officers and employees of the then Technical Analysis Department were interrogated in this case. As this case happened during Shukla’s tenure as Commissioner of Police, an officer of the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police, who was in charge of the post of Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch at that time, was also interrogated and recorded a statement.

Shukla is currently working on central deputation in Hyderabad. The phone tapping case took place when he was Commissioner in the State Intelligence Department (SID). The report also accused him of working in the same way even when he was Pune Police Commissioner before that.