Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), on Thursday, targeted Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and former state intelligence department chief Rashmi Shukla on her submission to the Bombay High Court that she had taken the government’s permission to tap phones. NCP chief spokesman and Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik claimed that the permission was obtained by misleading the government.
Malik was responding to the submission made by Shukla’s lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani in the court that she had tapped phones with the government’s permission. Shukla said that the Maharashtra government had given its permission to intercept certain phone numbers to authenticate complaints of corruption in police transfers and postings. “If Shukla had tapped the phones of political leaders with permission, then did she seek the permission from the chief minister?” he asked. Malik added, “Shukla, who is currently on the central government deputation, had sought permission under the pretext of sedition and national interest. However, in fact, she tapped the calls of political opponents.”