Mumbai crime branch on Sunday recorded the statement of Opposition leader and former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in a case pertaining to alleged phone-tapping carried out by the State Intelligence Department (SID).
What is the case registered at Mumbai crime branch’s BKC cyber cell?
In March 2021, Fadnavis revealed that several IPS officers were lobbying for posting in exchange for money. Fadnavis said that he has 6.3 GB of data of call records obtained from phone tapping allegedly conducted by the then State Intelligence Department (SID) commissioner Rashmi Shukla in which names of several key police officers were discussed. Alleging that corruption was taking place on a large scale in police transfers in Maharashtra, Fadnavis read out a report publicly which Shukla had written to former DGP Subhodh Jaiswal. The then DGP forwarded the report to then Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sitaram Kunte for action. Following which, the government instructed Kunte to inquire into the incident, who then in his report, alleged that Shukla deliberately misled the government to tap phones. Kunte’s report noted, “Seems prima facie … a copy from Shukla’s office. It is suspected that she may have leaked (it). The matter was leaked despite the fact that the letter was top-secret and it is a serious matter. If the suspicion is proved, she will be subject to severe action.” Accordingly, a case was registered under Official Secrets Act and Telegraph Act at the BKC cyber cell on March 26, 2021 against five unknown persons. Since then the crime branch is trying to identify the person who leaked it.
How many people linked to the case have recorded their statements so far?
The Mumbai crime branch has so far recorded the statement of 25 people linked to the case. Statement of Shukla was also recorded in May 2021, after a team from cyber cell was sent to Hyderabad, where she is currently posted as Additional Director General of Police at Central Reserve Police Force.
Why was recording Fadnavis’ statement important?
As per the cyber cell, Fadnavis, who claims to have brought this whole mega scam to light, is a star witness in the case. In a bid to narrow down on the suspects, the crime branch is also trying to seek details on his source of information, as the sensitive data and documents were leaked to him from SID’s office. Clarifying that Fadnavis’s statement is being recorded as a witness and not an accused in the case, the Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil on Sunday said that the investigating agency has sent six notices to Fadnavis since the registration of the FIR. “Fadnavis has only responded to one of them claiming that he will be sharing the details on the questionnaires soon. However, as he did not, the investigators went to his house to record his statement,” Patil said.
What is Fadnavis’s defence?
Fadnavis refuted the home minister’s claims that his statement was being recorded as a witness. “My statement was not recorded in the manner in which the statement of a witness is taken but it looks like I am being made an accused or a co-accused in the case,” said Fadnavis. The Opposition leader further claimed that he has responded to every question asked by the police. “I also said that I won’t comment on whether the Official Secrets Act will be applicable in my case but I should be protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act because I have brought the mega transfer scam to light,” said Fadnavis. He further added that as the documents contained the names of IPS officers, he gave them to the competent authority which in this case is the Union Home Affairs Secretary. “I did not give the pen drive or the transcription of the whole matter and leaked the information in the public domain. It was minister Nawab Malik who gave out the information to the press. So, they should inquire about Malik instead,” Fadnavis said.
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