Phone tapping case: IPS officer Rashmi Shukla appears before Mumbai police

Mumbai: IPS officer and former Maharashtra intelligence chief Rashmi Shukla appeared before the Colaba police here on Wednesday in connection with an investigation into the case of alleged illegal tapping of phones, an official said.

An FIR was registered against her at the Colaba police station in south Mumbai earlier this month under the Indian Telegraph Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The case was registered following a complaint by senior police officer Rajiv Jain, accusing Shukla of having put the phone numbers of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and NCP leader Eknath Khadse under surveillance.

The alleged illegal phone tapping had taken place when Shukla headed the state intelligence department (SID), police earlier said.

On Wednesday, Shukla reached the police station along with her lawyer at 11 am.

The Bombay High Court recently restrained the Mumbai police from taking any coercive steps against her till April 1. The court had also 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 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, and had even recorded her statement.

Shukla is presently on central deputation and posted as additional director general of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Hyderabad. On Sunday, the Mumbai police had recorded the statement of senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis in the case of alleged illegal phone tapping and leaking of confidential documents.