Jaipur, Nov 9 (PTI) The crime branch of Delhi Police has again summoned Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's officer on special duty (OSD) Lokesh Sharma for questioning in connection with a phone tapping case lodged in the national capital on a complaint by Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

This is the third time the crime branch has summoned Sharma, who had not appeared earlier citing personal reasons. The fresh notice states that failure to attend or comply with the terms of the notice can render him liable for arrest under Section 41 A (3) and (4) of the CrPC, sources said.

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The investigating officer said in the notice that there exists reasonable suspicion that Sharma has committed a cognisable offence and directed him to appear before him (IO) on 12 November at the Crime Branch in Delhi.

He also laid down ten conditions that Sharma will not commit any offence in the future, will not tamper with the evidence, will not make any threat, inducement or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case, etc, the sources said.

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The Delhi Police's Crime Branch had sent the first notice to Sharma to appear for questioning on July 24 and the second to appear on October 22 but he did not appear citing personal reasons.

The earlier two notices were sent under section 160 of CrPC asking him to appear before the investigating officer and the third notice is under section 41.1 (A) CrPC with certain conditions and the statement that failure to comply with the terms of the notice can render him liable for arrest.

The Delhi police had registered the FIR in March this year against Sharma on charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and unlawfully intercepting telegraphic signals (telephonic conversation) on the complaint by Shekhawat, who is also the BJP MP from Jodhpur.

The Delhi High Court has already stayed coercive action against Sharma till January 13.

The phone-tapping controversy erupted in July last year in Rajasthan.

Audio clips of alleged telephonic conversations between Shekhawat and Congress leaders surfaced amidst a rebellion against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot by his then deputy Sachin Pilot and 18 party MLAs supporting him.

It was alleged that Lokesh Sharma circulated the audio clips purportedly having the conversation about a conspiracy to topple the Congress government.

On the basis of the audio clips, Congres chief whip Mahesh Joshi had lodged complaints with special operations groups (SOG) and anti-corruption bureau (ACB) of Rajasthan police in July last year but the FIR did not mention that Gajendra Singh referred to in the clip was Union minister Shekhawat.

The SOG later closed the case after the Congress high command intervened to resolve the issues between Gehlot and Pilot.

Sharma has rejected the allegations of phone tapping.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)