Mumbai: Mumbai Police on Thursday issued second summons to IPS officer and CRPF special director general Rashmi Shukla asking her to record her statement in Mumbai on May 3 in a phone tapping case. Shukla was earlier summoned to record her statement on April 28 and she informed that won't be able to come citing the COVID-19 pandemic and work as reasons. Instead, she had demanded that a questionnaire be sent to her so that she could reply.
Joint commissioner of police, Niket Kaushik confirmed that another summons has been issued to Shukla on Thursday.
The cyber cell had on Monday issued summons to Shukla, currently posed in Hyderabad, asking her to appear before the BKC Cyber department on Wednesday by 11 am. The cyber cell had issued summons to Shukla at her residence in Hyderabad in connection with the case of alleged illegal phone tapping.
Replying to the summons on Tuesday via email, Shukla had expressed her inability to appear before the department due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the official said.
The senior IPS officer had also requested that a list of questionnaire be sent to her to avoid any delay in the investigation, he added.
An FIR was registered under the Official Secrets Act at the BKC cyber police station against unidentified persons for allegedly tapping phones illegally and leaking certain confidential documents on the complaint filed by the State Intelligence Department.
The FIR also invoked section 30 of the Indian Telegraph Act and section 43(B) of the Information Technology Act.
The alleged tapping of phones had taken place when Shukla headed the Maharashtra intelligence department.
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis had cited a letter purportedly written by Shukla to the then Director General of Police about alleged corruption in police transfers.
The letter also had details of intercepted calls, leading to an uproar with leaders of the Shiv Sena-led ruling coalition alleging that Shukla tapped phones without permission.
Before registration of the FIR, Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte had alleged in a report submitted to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray that it appears that Shukla herself had leaked the confidential report (to Fadnavis).