IPS officer Shukla tried to induce MLAs to back BJP, alleges another Maharashtra minister

Maharashtra Minister and NCP leader Hasan Mushrif on Friday accused IPS officer Rashmi Shukla of making offers worth crores to independent MLAs to induce them to support the BJP after the 2019 Assembly pollsWhile Mushrif sought a probe against Shukla Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut also made a similar allegation and asked why the state government had been lenient towards such officialsMushrif Rural Development Minister in the SenaNCP Congress government alleged that Shukla was in touch with independent MLAs from October 24 2019 when the poll results were announced to November 24 2019 days before the Senaled MVA government was formedAnother NCP minister Jitendra Awhad and independent MLA and minister Rajendra PatilYadravkar had earlier accused Shukla who is at the centre of a phonetapping controversy of contacting MLAs on behalf of the BJP after electionsThe IPS officer has not offered any comment on the allegations yet The BJP which had fallen out with ally Sena did not have enough numbers to form government after the pollsMinister of State for Public Health Rajendra Patil Yadravkar had received such a callShukla was making offers worth crores to independent MLAs for supporting the BJP She was trying to see that BJP retained power Mushrif told reportersA senior IPS officer being involved in such things was a very serious matter he said Hence I request the chief minister that besides the phone tapping issue these phone calls to independent MLAs should be probed too and strict action should be taken against her after checking her call detail records the NCP leader saidEarlier this week BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis cited a letter written by Shukla then commissioner of State Intelligence to the then Director General of Police about alleged corruption in police transfers with details of some intercepted calls Mushrif termed Fadnavis allegations as hollowFadnavis should apologise to people for defaming Maharashtra I suspect that this is being done to divert the direction of the ongoing probe into the bomb scare outside industrialist Mukesh Ambanis residence and the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran the NCP leader saidThe BJP leader should forget his dream of coming back to power as the MVA coalition was strong he said Speaking to the media earlier in the day Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut too alleged that Shukla had tried to pressurise independent MLAs and those from smaller parties into supporting the BJP after the 2019 pollsIt was surprising that she continued in her post for five to six months after the Uddhav Thackeray government was formed he said We came across such threefour officials NCP chief Sharad Pawar also noted this It was Pawars view too that such officials should not be kept close Raut addedHad action been taken against Shukla in time Fadnavis would not have got the chance to make allegations about corruption in police transfers he saidRaut also claimed that his and Pawars phones too were being tapped when the Shiv Sena and NCP were in the process of forming governmentHe knows that the Centre taps phones of all the Rajya Sabha member saidThose in the state government should realize the seriousness of the issue and think how long they will rely on such officials he addedFollowing Fandnavis allegations chief minister Thackeray had asked chief secretary Sitaram Kunte to submit a report Kunte in his report alleged that it was Shukla herself who appeared to have leaked her letterThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever