Rashmi Shukla appeared at Colaba police station on Wednesday. (Express Photo by Ganesh Shirsekar) IPS officer Rashmi Shukla, who formerly headed the State Intelligence Department (SID) of the Maharashtra Police, on Tuesday appeared before the Colaba police station to record her statement in connection with the FIR registered against her for allegedly tapping the phones of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut and NCP’s Eknath Khadse.
This is the first time that the 1988 batch officer appeared before the Mumbai Police in Maharashtra, as she is no longer serving in the state and has been on central deputation with the CRPF. Shukla appeared before the police based on the condition set by the Bombay High Court while granting her interim protection from arrest till April 1.
Last year, Mumbai Police had recorded her statement in another case by sending a team to Hyderabad, where she is posted.
Shukla appeared before the Colaba police around 11 am and left around 1.40 pm. She came in her official car and had a posse of CRPF officials with her.
Sources said that she told the investigating officer that her actions were fully compliant with the standard operating procedures for such interception and that all necessary permissions had been taken by her.
An officer said that while she answered several questions on Wednesday, they have a few more that they will ask her when she next appears before them.
An FIR was registered against Shukla at the Colaba police station earlier this month under the Indian Telegraph Act and the Indian Penal Code following a complaint by senior police officer Rajiv Jain, who accused Shukla of having put the phone numbers of Raut and Khadse under surveillance. The alleged illegal phone tapping had taken place when Shukla headed the SID.
After the Mumbai Police registered an FIR in the case, Shukla had moved HC seeking quashing of the FIR. While providing her protection from arrest, the court had asked Shukla to appear before the police station 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 BJP-led government was in power in the state. The cyber wing of the Mumbai Police 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. She had recorded her statement in the case.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
