CBI probe into police postings racket can spell more trouble for Maharashtra CM, Deshmukh

Mumbai/New Delhi, March 23

Reeling under pressure from the Vazegate, the Maha Vikas Aghadi(MVA) government in Maharashtra faces yet another charge of grave corruption relating to transfer-posting racket of top IPS officers.

The Union Home Ministry, the cadre controlling authority of Indian Police Service (IPS) in the country, is expected to initiate a CBI probe into the transfer and posting racket of senior police officials which can give sleepless nights to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, accused of hushing up a probe by BJP.

Former Chief Minister and present Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, who broke the racket story during a press conference in Mumbai would be handing over the sensitive audio recordings relating to postings racket in the state to Union Home Ministry in New Delhi on Tuesday evening.

Fadnavis said that the recordings and names of concerned IPS officers and powerful men involved in the racket were known to Thackeray, however, the chief minister chose to hush up the case instead of taking action.

"What's more surprising is the fact that CM (Uddhav Thackeray) transferred the Commissioner of Intelligence Rashmi Shukla who unearthed the racket flourishing in Mumbai.

"I have the sensitive recordings which nail the men in power but I would not share it with the public. I will hand over these recordings to the Union Home Secretary in Delhi," Fadnavis said.

The Commissioner of State Intelligence (COI) Rashmi Shukla has informed the Maharashtra DGP, Subodh Kumasr Jaiswal, on August 25, 2020, that a network of brokers had emerged in Mumbai having political connections.

"They are engaged in arranging desired postings for police officers in exchange for monetary connections," Rashmi Shukla's letter revealed. The COI had sought permission from the concerned authorities to place the telephone numbers of the brokers under surveillance.

The COI informed the DGP of the surveillance of the phone numbers which corroborated the charges relating to transfer and posting racket.

The COI letter also revealed that several high ranking IPS officers were in contact with power brokers active in Mumbai. Transcripts of telephonic conversations in a sealed cover were also handed over to the DGP.

Fadnavis revealed that the DGP had sent the entire transcripts, exposing the network of power brokers, to Thackeray.

Instead of allowing the COI to register a case of corruption, the CM sent the report along with the transcripts to Deshmukh, informed Fadnavis.

Sources said that once CBI would be given the probe of transfer and posting racket, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra would be in deep trouble as the case attracts the provision of Anti-Corruption Act against powerful people in government.

IANS

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