The Cyber Cell of Mumbai Police on Thursday issued second summon to senior IPS officer from Maharashtra, Ms Rashmi Shukla, to appear before it and answer questions on the “phone tapping scandal’’ .  At present posted in Hyderabad as ADG (Central Reserve Police Force), Ms Shukla failed to comply with the first summon, which required her to reach Mumbai on April 28, 2021.

Ms Shukla cited her inability to come to Mumbai because of the overall pandemic condition. Instead, she asked the Mumbai police to send her the questionnaire to which she would send her reply.

Perceived as being close to the BJP leaders when the party was in power in Maharashtra, Ms Shukla was then the State Intelligence Commissioner (SID). However, soon after Uddhav Thackeray came to power, she was shunted out to Civil Defence, a non executive post. She subsequenty went to Hyderabad on deputation.

Things took a turn in March this year when the then Mumbai Police Commissioner Mr Karam Bir Singh made claims of corruption against the then serving Home Minister of the state, Mr Anil Deshmukh. Subsequently, former Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP leader Mr devendra Fadnavis released phone records which allegedly showed leaders lobbing with Anil Deshmukh for political favours and postings. Mr Fadnavis further said that these calls were intercepted and recorded by Ms Shukla when she was heading the SID.

It was then that the present Maharashtra Government struck back at the IPS officer Ms Rashmi Shukla. It’s apparently peeved at how this confidential information reached BJP- the principle opposition party in Maharashtra.

The second summon to Ms Shukla requires her to reach Mumbai next month, on May 3.