The Mumbai Police have told a court here that they have sought the central government’s nod to prosecute IPS officer Rashmi Shukla in an alleged phone tapping case. The Colaba police in Mumbai are conducting a probe into the case and had filed a charge sheet against Shukla in April this year.
However, the magistrate court presiding over the case, is yet to take cognisance of the charge sheet in the absence of sanction to prosecute Shukla. On August 6, the police told the court that they have sought sanction from the Centre under relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPc) in the case against Shukla.
The sanction from competent authorities under Section 197 of the CrPC is required to prosecute public servants if the alleged act committed is directly concerned with the official duty. The charge sheet, running into more than 700 pages, contains statements of at least 20 people, including Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and NCP leader Eknath Khadse, whose phones were allegedly tapped illegally when Shukla headed the Maharashtra State Intelligence Department. A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Shukla under the Indian Telegraph Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code at Colaba police station on the complaint of an additional commissioner of police (special branch).
According to the complaint, the phones of Khadse, who was then with the BJP, were kept under surveillance for two months. Similarly, Raut’s phones were under illegal surveillance when talks were underway between the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP for the formation of government in Maharashtra after the 2019 Assembly polls, police claimed.
Shukla is currently on central deputation and posted as additional director general of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Hyderabad.
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