Phone tapping: Mumbai police grill Rashmi Shukla for 2nd time this month

The Mumbai police on Wednesday recorded the statement of IPS officer and former state intelligence chief Rashmi Shukla for over two hours in connection with a case of alleged illegal tapping of phones, an official said.

She had earlier also appeared before the Colaba police in Mumbai on March 16.

On Wednesday, Shukla along with her lawyer reached the Colaba police station in south Mumbai at about 11 am and left around 1 pm.

An FIR was registered against Shukla by the Colaba police earlier this month under the Indian Telegraph Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, following a complaint by senior police officer Rajiv Jain, who accused her of having put the phone numbers of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and Nationalist Congress Party leader Eknath Khadse under surveillance.

The alleged illegal phone tapping had taken place when Shukla headed the state intelligence department, the police earlier said.

The Bombay high court recently restrained the Mumbai police from taking any coercive steps against her till April 1.

The court had also asked Shukla to appear before the police on March 16 and 23 between 11 am and 1 pm.

Earlier, the Pune police had also registered an FIR against Shukla in connection with alleged illegal tapping of the phones of Congress leader Nana Patole when a Bharatiya Janata Party-led government was in power in the state.

The cyber wing of the Mumbai crime branch had also registered an FIR last year against unidentified persons over alleged phone tapping and leak of confidential documents about police transfers during Shukla's tenure as SID chief, and had even recorded her statement.

Shukla is presently on central deputation and posted as additional director general of the Central Reserve Police Force in Hyderabad.

Earlier this month, the Mumbai police had recorded the statement of senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis in the case of alleged illegal phone tapping and leaking of confidential documents.