Maha wiretapping scam: FIR against IPS officer Rashmi Shukla

Pune, Feb 27 (IANS): Pune Police on Saturday filed an FIR against an IPS officer and a former Pune Police Commissioner, Rashmi Shukla, in connection with the wiretapping scandal that erupted last year, officials said here .

Following the report of a 3-member committee, the state government ordered the Bund Garden Police Station to file the FIR against Shukla, an IPS officer from 1988, who is currently the Additional DGP, CRPF .

At the relevant time of the wiretapping episode in 2020, she held the position of additional DGP of the Maharashtra State Intelligence Department and was later transferred as Chief of Civil Defense on September 3, 2020.

In March 2021, opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis shared recordings of phone calls and other evidence from officers who allegedly tried to influence former interior minister Anil Deshmukh for transfers or postings. of plums.

The government of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has ordered an investigation into the “illegal” wiretapping carried out by Shukla to uncover the alleged scam of police transfers and the leaking of call data.

Then-Chief Secretary Sitaram J. Kunte’s investigation report, submitted to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, pointed an accusing finger at Shukla for overstepping his mandate.

When confronted, Shukla not only admitted her mistake, but apologized for her actions, citing personal and family issues like her husband’s death due to cancer and raising the children, etc. .

“She (Shukla) had met with the CM, Home Minister (Anil Deshmukh) and myself and expressed her regrets. She also asked permission to withdraw her report. As she was a female officer who had suffered traumatic personal issues and had admitted fault, a sympathetic view was taken and the case was not pursued,” Kunte’s report to Thackeray said.

Shukla’s “Top Secret” report of August 25, 2020 had convicted several prominent figures, including Deshmukh, in alleged corruption in the police promotions and transfers racket, but it has been leaked into the public domain.

Following Kunte’s report, based on a state CID complaint, the Mumbai Computer Police Station filed an FIR on March 26, 2021 against ‘unknown’ persons citing various sections of the Official Secrets Act , the Indian Telegraph Act and the Information Technology Act.