Maharashtra govt alleges Devendra Fadnavis regime tapped NCP-Sena leaders' phones; Sanjay Raut says 'have no secrets'

The cyber cell of the Maharashtra police department has been directed to look into the complaints of phone-tapping and snooping of leaders who were then in the opposition.

ANI photo

Mumbai: Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday alleged that the previous Devendra Fadnavis dispensation misused government machinery to tap the phones of opposition leaders, and an inquiry has been ordered in this regard. Talking to reporters here, he said the cyber cell of the state police department has been directed to look into the complaints of phone-tapping and snooping of leaders who were then in the opposition.

He said the government is also trying to find those officers, who had been reportedly sent to Israel to study the snooping software then.

"The cyber cell of Maharashtra police has been asked to look into the various complaints of snooping/phone tapping that came in during the previous government. The inquiry is being done following complaints of snooping on opposition leaders, especially during the formation of (Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi) government," Deshmukh said. "There is no doubt that the previous dispensation has misused the government machinery to tap of phones of leaders from opposition parties," he said.

"There were reports that some officers were sent to Israel to study the snooping software. We are finding out who had gone to Israel and whether there was any official engagement," Deshmukh said.

On Friday (January 24) Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut also alleged that a senior BJP minister of the previous government had warned him that his phone was being tapped. "Your phone is being tapped. This was told to me by a senior BJP minister earlier. I told him whoever wishes to listen to my conversations is free to do so. I am a disciple of Balasaheb Thackeray, I don't do anything secretly," Raut said in a tweet on Friday.