Phone tapping: Delhi Police asks Rajasthan CM's OSD to appear before it on Saturday

Lokesh Sharma replied to the Crime Branch notice, saying it was not possible for him to travel out of Jaipur

The Delhi Police Crime Branch has asked the Rajasthan chief minister’s OSD to appear before it on Saturday for questioning in a phone-tapping case lodged on the complaint of Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

However, Lokesh Sharma replied to the Crime Branch notice on Friday, saying it was not possible for him to travel out of Jaipur for two weeks due to personal reasons.

He said if there is any urgency, he is available via video conference at a suitable time.

The notice was issued on July 19 and the CM’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD) was asked to appear for questioning at the Prashant Vihar office of the Crime Branch in Delhi's Rohini.

The Delhi Police had registered the FIR in March this year against Sharma on charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and unlawfully intercepting telegraphic signals (telephonic conversation) on the complaint by Shekhawat, who is also the BJP MP from Jodhpur.

The phone-tapping controversy erupted in July last year in Rajasthan.

Audio clips of alleged telephonic conversations between Shekhawat and Congress leaders surfaced amidst a rebellion against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot by his then deputy Sachin Pilot and 18 party MLAs supporting him.

It was alleged that Lokesh Sharma circulated audio clips purportedly having conversation about the conspiracy to topple the Congress government.

On the basis of the audio clips, Congress leader Mahesh Joshi had registered cases with the state SOG and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) but the FIR did not mention that Gajendra Singh referred to in the clip was Union minister Shekhawat.

The SOG later closed the case.

Sharma has rejected the allegations of phone tapping.

After the case was registered against him, he had approached the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of the FIR against him following which the court last month asked the Delhi Police not to take any coercive action against him till the next date of hearing, which is August 6.