We were instructed to focus on Raut’s talks with ‘Saheb’: SID official

Mumbai: A policeman of the State Intelligence Department (SID) who monitored the calls of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut was “instructed” to focus on the Rajya Sabha parliamentarian’s phone conversations with “Saheb” and submit reports to his seniors, his statement submitted to the Mumbai police contended.

The statement did not clarify who he meant by “Saheb”. Senior Indian Police Services (IPS) officer Rashmi Shukla, who headed SID at the time, is the subject of an investigation for allegedly illegally tapping the phones of senior politicians.

Also Read | IPS Rashmi Shukla tapped phones to benefit political party: Police

“At the fag-end of the year 2019, the mobile phone of Sanjay Raut was kept under surveillance. I have myself heard his calls. Those were mostly about meeting political leaders and organising meetings, visiting places like Sahyadri (the state guest house), Silver Oak (the Malabar Hill residence of Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar) and Matoshree (the private residence of chief minister Uddhav Thackeray),” the policeman’s statement read.

It added that whenever the information seemed important, they (the police personnel who monitored the targeted phones) were required to inform their seniors. “We were instructed to pay attention to the calls, especially those in which he (Raut) spoke about or with ‘Saheb,’” the policeman’s statement read.

The statement, which forms part of the charge sheet does not clarify whom “Saheb” referred to. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is referred to as “Saheb” among his party workers in the Shiv Sena, while NCP chief Sharad Pawar is also called “Saheb” by his cadre.

The Mumbai police, which was probing an allegedly illegal phone-tapping exercise overseen by the senior Indian Police Services (IPS) officer in 2019, submitted a 700-page charge sheet to the 8th metropolitan magistrate court on April 26.

Also Read | Mumbai police files 700-page charge sheet against IPS Rashmi Shukla in phone tapping case

There are substantial reasons to believe that the illegal phone tapping of political figures, under the pretext that they are anti-social elements, was possibly done on instructions of a political leader or to benefit a political party, the charge sheet stated.

Shukla had illegally secured permission for surveillance from the home department by changing the name of Raut to “S Rahate”, and that of Khadse to “Khadasne”, it further stated.

Raut did not respond to phone calls or text messages seeking a comment on the policeman’s statement.

Last week, Raut claimed that his phone as well as that of six-time legislator Eknath Khadse was tapped for 60 and 67 days, respectively, in 2019, under the pretext that they were “anti-social elements”.

“The case is being tried in the court and let court decide on it. However, can MVA leaders surely say that the phone tapping does not happen now or it was not the practice before 2014? When our leaders exposed IPL scam a decade ago, their phones were under surveillance. Similarly, phones of BJP leaders and journalists were under surveillance in 2011-12 when the Adarsh scam was being investigated,” Maharashtra BJP vice president Madhav Bhandari said.

The phone-tapping exercise under investigation at present reportedly happened at a time when Sena was in talks with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress leadership soon after it parted ways with long-time ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), due to contention over the chief minister’s position after the assembly results were declared in October 2019. The Sena — which had the second highest number of seats (56) after the BJP (105) — eventually partnered with the Congress and the NCP after weeks of deliberation to form the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government.

On March 2, additional commissioner of Police (Special Branch) Rajiv Jain filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Shukla in Mumbai’s Colaba police station stating that she had tapped the phones of Raut and Khadse.

Shukla remained unreachable for comment.

“Intelligence sources can never be disclosed in order to maintain the safety of the source, disclosure not only harms the source, but puts the entire intelligence collection mechanism in danger,” she had told the police during her interrogation in the probe, when asked about the reason to place Raut’s phone under surveillance. She maintained that telephone interception was not done for any political purpose during her tenure.

Eknath Khadse’s statement in the charge sheet

The charge sheet filed by the Colaba police against Shukla also contained the statement of Khadse, a former BJP leader who resigned from the party in October 2020, and later joined the NCP. It revealed that his phone was kept under surveillance between June 21 and August 17, 2019 at a time when political leaders across Maharashtra were preparing for the assembly elections.

Khadse’s statement pointed out that two of his mobile numbers, as well as those of BJP functionaries close to him and his personal assistant were kept under surveillance. He told the police that he had first raised the complaint about his phone being kept under surveillance in 2016 (Khadse resigned from the then Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP-Sena government on June 4, 2016).

Unaware as to who was tapping his phone, Khadse said he also informed Fadnavis and Shukla, then joint commissioner of SID. In 2016, he complained to then Union home minister Rajnath Singh, and in 2018-19, he brought up the matter with the Maharashtra chief secretary and additional chief secretary (home), his statement read.

“Government constituted committee’s findings and subsequent registration of FIRs related to illegal phone tapping at Pune and Mumbai proves that my suspicion of tapping of my phone was right,” Khadse stated in his statement.

The charge sheet also included the statement of the then additional chief secretary (home) Sanjay Kumar, who said he had issued orders that phones of people’s representatives should not be tapped without concrete evidence or unless required to be kept under surveillance for extremely important reasons.

“I used to regularly interact with Shukla regarding work and time and again had given same instructions to her also. Every two months a review committee’s meeting is held by the chief secretary, who is the review committee’s head. The review committee president and members had also time and again given instructions that the phones of people’s representatives shall not be put under surveillance. Shukla was well aware of this. Despite this she misled me, the review committee chairman and its members and she put the phone numbers of two people’s representatives under surveillance,” Kumar said in his statement.

Shukla, a 1988-batch IPS officer, held the post of the SID commissioner from October 11, 2018, to September 3, 2020. She is currently on central deputation and posted as the additional director general of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) (South Zone) in Hyderabad.