Phone tapping case: Devendra Fadnavis asked to appear before Mumbai Police

Pic courtesy: ANI

Mumbai: Devendra Fadnavis, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, said he has received a notice from the Mumbai Police in a phone tapping case and transfer of IPS officers. The former Maharashtra CM has been asked to appear before the force at the BKC Cyber Police Station at 11 am on Sunday (March 13) and Fadnvis said he would appear before police to record his statement. "The Mumbai Police has sent me a notice under Section 160 CrPC, asking me to appear before them at BKC Cyber Police Station at 11 am tomorrow. I will go there and record my statement," Fadnavis said on Saturday.

Slamming the state government, Fadnavis was quoted by ANI as saying, "Had the government caught the scamsters and those who are being probed by CBI on time and not brushed the matter under the carpet for 6 months, then I need not have exposed it. The government wants to protect them and somebody who exposed this is being called to the police station."

He added, "As the Leader of opposition, I have the privilege to not reveal where I got the information from. But I was Home Minister once and I understand my responsibility. If an offence was falsely registered and if the police wants some help, I will respond. So, I will go to the police station tomorrow," Devendra Fadnavis said.

Meanhwile, the Bombay High Court on Friday had restrained police from taking any coercive action till April 1 against IPS officer Rashmi Shukla in the FIR registered against her last month in connection with alleged phone tapping. Shukla filed her plea earlier this week through advocate Sameer Nangre, claiming that she had been falsely implicated in the case, which has been registered in Colaba police station, and that the said FIR was politically motivated. The FIR was lodged following a complaint by senior police officer Rajiv Jain accusing Shulka of having put the phone numbers of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and NCP leader Eknath Khadse under surveillance.