Mumbai, February 3: The Maharashtra government on Sunday constituted a two-member committee to probe into allegations of phone tapping of leaders, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, incumbent Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and senior Congress politicians by the previous Devendra Fadnavis government. Phones of these leaders were allegedly tapped during the Lok Saha Elections 2019 and the recently concluded assembly polls. Chief Secretary Shrikant Singh and Joint Commissioner (Intelligence) Amitesh Kumar are part of the committee set up by state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. WhatsApp Snoopgate: Priyanka Gandhi's Phone Also Targeted Through Israeli Spyware Pegasus, Alleges Congress.

According to a report published in The Times of India, the committee has been directed to complete the investigation within six weeks. It can also induct officers and technical experts as per the requirement. A senior bureaucrat told the media house, “Home minister Anil Deshmukh has directed the additional chief secretary (home) Sanjay Kumar to immediately set up the committee comprising Shrikant Singh and Amitesh Kumar.” Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray Phone Tapping Row: Devendra Fadnavis Dismisses Allegations, Says 'Maharashtra Government Free to Conduct Inquiry'.

The committee will not only cover the legal aspect, but will also take help of technical experts to find out whether unofficial surveillance was carried out by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state. The inquiry committee will trace the foot-print in the servers of various telecom companies through verification and visits, reported TOI.

Earlier this month, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis had denied the charges of phone tapping of opposition leaders during the 2019 parliamentary polls. Fadnavis had said phone tapping was not the culture of the state and his government had not given any such orders. He further added that a Shiv Sena leader was the minister of state for home during his tenure. Meanwhile, after coming to power in Maharashtra, the Congress, a key constituent of the Maha Vikas Agadi (MVA) government, joined the NCP in attacking the BJP and demanded a high-level inquiry into the entire episode.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 03, 2020 09:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).