Lokesh Sharma, former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, has blamed the Congress leader for phone tapping during the political crisis in the state in 2020. Sharma says that Gehlot should be questioned in this regard.
Lokesh Sharma, former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, has blamed the Congress leader for phone tapping during the political crisis in the state in 2020. Sharma says that Gehlot should be questioned in this regard. Delhi Police is investigating the matter on the basis of an FIR lodged by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Sharma was questioned by the Delhi Police Crime Branch for over five hours. After this, he told reporters, ‘As usual, there was a long list of questions, but the main question of the puzzle was where did I get the audio clip. So today I told this to the Crime Branch and gave them a written statement of seven pages. In this, I have told with evidence that on July 16, 2020, at around 6.30-7 pm, the then CM Ashok Gehlot called me and gave me a pen drive, which contained the audio clip and asked me to circulate it in the media.’
Sharma said, ‘Now Ashok Gehlot should be questioned. Because I have said in writing that Ashok Gehlot should be further questioned as to how he got these audio clips recorded. Was it legal or illegal, was it (call interception) done following all the rules and regulations or was there any intention behind it. Ashok Gehlot himself can answer this.’ He further said, ‘He (Sharma) was not involved in call interception. It was done on the instructions of the then Chief Minister. Now he (Gehlot) can reveal further details as to how phone ‘surveillance’ was done.’
Sharma claimed that the phones of several Congress MLAs from both Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot camps were ‘intercepted’ on the instructions of the Chief Minister during the political crisis and that they used to receive ‘transcriptions’ of each call. In March 2021, Delhi Police registered an FIR against Sharma on the complaint of Shekhawat for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and illegal recording of telephone conversations. Sharma appeared before the Crime Branch for questioning for the fifth time. Crime Branch officials had earlier questioned him for the last time on October 10, 2023.