Mumbai: The Mumbai Police have constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the controversial 35-minute audio clip in which a claim was made that Rs 500 crore were paid to Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange through Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde. Additional Commissioner of Police (south region) Shailesh Balkawade will head the SIT while Deputy Commissioners of Police Vijaykant Sagar (zone 3) and Bajrang Bansode (cyber cell) will be its members.
Police Commissioner Issues Order
Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti issued an order in this regard on Monday following an announcement by the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Bharti’s choice of Balkawade to lead the SIT has raised eyebrows though.
Balkawade reportedly has good equations with Jarange. He had replaced Tushar Doshi as Superintendent of Police in Jalna, the home district of Jarange, after the latter was transferred following his order to lathi-charge the protesting Maratha community members in September 2023. Balkawade had played an important role in pacifying the Maratha community at that time. He had regular dialogue with Jarange in the later days.
Jarange Questions SIT Chief's Appointment
Jarange, however, questioned the appointment of Balkawade. He alleged that the officer was considered close to Fadnavis. “Merely constituting a probe panel is not enough. The panel should get to the bottom of the matter. The investigation must remain impartial. The clip is genuine and not AI-generated. Such a lengthy recording could not have been fabricated using artificial intelligence,” he said.
A source in the state government says that Balkawade has been chosen to lead the SIT to gain Jarange’s confidence. “Jarange has publicly alleged that the government might try to prove the controversial audio clip as a fabricated one. He may soften his stand after Balkawade, whom he knows well, starts his investigation,” the source said.
The government needs to win Jarange’s confidence as far as the audio clip is concerned because the clip has become another reason for making the Maratha community angry with the it. They are reportedly angry because many of them believe that the BJP was trying to create a rift between them by speculating over the alleged money transaction between Jarange and Shinde.
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