Got threat from Pakistan to drop cases against Eknath Khadse, says activist

Anjali Damania

Activist Anjali Damania on Saturday claimed to have received a threat call from a ‘Pakistan-based’ number asking her to withdraw all the cases filed by her against BJP MLA Eknath Khadse. An FIR has been registered at Vakola police station. Preliminary investigation has indicated that the call was made through VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), sources said. Police haven’t ruled out the possibility of a case of “mischief”.

“VoIP allows the caller to hide his actual location and route it to any place or country… we had a similar experience while probing claims made by an ethical hacker who was later chargesheeted. In this case too, mischief cannot be ruled out… we are probing other angles too,” a senior officer said. The Mumbai Crime Branch is assisting the local police in investigations, an IPS officer said.

Damania said she got a call from +92 21 35871719 in the early hours of Saturday and the caller threatened her in Hindi to withdraw all cases against Khadse. “I will also seek a probe by a central agency and am trying to get in touch with Home Minister Rajnath Singh,” she said.

In an official release, the Aam Aadmi Party sought an investigation by IB or R&AW as the number is said to belong to Dawood Ibrahim. “Ethical hacker Maneesh Bhangale had said this number belongs to Mehjabeen Shaikh, wife of Dawood Ibrahim, and was registered in Karachi. Maneesh had said that Khadse’s mobile number was frequently called from the same number… media sources had shown that this number is noted as belonging to Dawood’s residence in the files of Indian intelligence agencies too,” the party said.