Sanjay Kumar Verma, a 1990-batch IPS officer, has been appointed as the new Director General of Police (DGP) of Maharashtra, replacing Rashmi Shukla who was removed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) amid allegations of phone tapping. Verma’s appointment comes ahead of the crucial Maharashtra Assembly elections scheduled for November 20.
Lokesh Sharma, former OSD to Rajasthan’s ex-Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, has accused Gehlot of being responsible for phone tapping during the 2020 political crisis. Sharma has called for Gehlot to be interrogated, claiming he received call recordings from Gehlot himself and circulated them to the media.
More than 1,200 phones were illegally tapped, and six individuals, including suspended police officers, have been charged in the Telangana phone tapping case. The chargesheet alleges that they destroyed evidence and illegally profiled individuals for political gain. The former Telangana Chief Minister is implicated in the case, with allegations that he sought to pressure the BJP in an unrelated case. The arrested individuals face charges under various sections of the IPC, PDPP Act, and IT Act-2000.
Former Deputy Commissioner of Police P Radhakishan Rao has confessed to his involvement in phone tapping during the tenure of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government. Rao admitted to conducting surveillance on politicians and others under the directions of the then Telangana Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief T Prabhakar Rao. The alleged phone tapping targeted media personalities, retired police officers, politicians, industrialists, and even bureaucrats. The former DCP also claimed that businesspersons in the real estate and construction industries were tracked to establish their affiliations.
In a dramatic turn of events, Panjagutta police in Hyderabad have charged four police officers involved in a phone-tapping case with cyber terrorism. This is the first time such a charge has been brought against police personnel. The accused, former Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) DSP D Praneeth Rao, ASPs Bhujanga Rao and Tirupathanna, and former DCP (Task Force) Radhakishan Rao, were initially charged with conspiracy for tapping phones of opposition politicians, including now Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, when BRS was in government. They are also accused of maintaining constant surveillance on politicians and other prominent individuals. Now police have sought permission to invoke 66 F of the Information Technology Act, which carries a life sentence and defines cyber terrorism as denying access or introducing contaminants into a system to threaten India’s unity or security.
Lokesh Sharma, a former aide of former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, has reignited allegations of phone tapping and the REET exam paper leak just a day before the second phase of the Lok Sabha election. Sharma claimed that Gehlot gave him a pen drive containing audio clips, which were later leaked to the media. He also alleged that Gehlot’s close aides were protected in the REET paper leak case. Gehlot is yet to respond to these allegations.
