Nagpur: The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President Nana Patole on Wednesday moved the Nagpur District and Sessions Court and has filed a Rs 500 crore defamation suit against IPS officer and former State Intelligence Chief Rashmi Shukla and others for alleged illegal tapping of his phone, according to media reports.
According to the petition, Patole also sought a permanent injunction to stop the misuse of information collected through alleged illegal phone tapping. Following the petition, a notice has been issued by the court to all concerned and the next hearing has been fixed for April 12.
Patole in his petition said that while Shukla was the Pune Police Commissioner in 2016, she tapped the phone of some leaders of the Opposition. She allegedly changed the names of politicians. Gave them some nicknames and passed some resolutions against them. Nana Patole was named as Amjad Khan, a drug smuggler. His phone was also tapped. When this matter came to light, there was a big commotion in the Assembly. A case has also been registered against Shukla at the Bund Garden Police Station in Pune.
According to reports, Adv. Satish Uke is appearing for Patole. The court has issued notices to Shukla, Union Home Secretary, Additional Secretary, Home Department, Nagpur and Pune City Police Commissioners and Pune Crime Branch Police. The next hearing in the case is set for April 12.
Meanwhile, Shukla appeared before the Colaba Police on Wednesday in connection with the alleged illegal phone tapping of senior state politicians. The Bombay High Court while granting her relief from the arrest ordered her to appear before the Colaba police on March 16 and March 23.
Earlier this month, she was booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Indian Telegraph Act for allegedly having put the phone numbers of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and NCP leader Eknath Khadse under surveillance in 2019, when she was the State Intelligence chief.
This was the second time when Shukla, who is currently on a Central deputation and posted as Additional Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Hyderabad, appeared before Colaba Police in south Mumbai after March 16.
