Jaipur:

Former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot’s ex-OSD Lokesh Sharma on Thursday said he has handed over evidence to Delhi Police’s crime branch in support of his claim that Gehlot provided him call recordings of Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to circulate to media during the political crisis of 2020.

Mr Sharma reached the crime branch office in New Delhi on Thursday and handed over a pen drive, laptop and phone for investigation.

Delhi Police questioned Mr Sharma on Wednesday last week in connection with a phone-tapping case lodged on a complaint by Mr Shekhawat.

Sharma had submitted a seven-page written statement, describing the sequence of events on July 16, 2020 when he got the pen drive allegedly containing call recordings from the then CM for circulating them to the media.

“I have provided all evidence in support of my statement. Now Ashok Gehlot should be summoned for interrogation,” he said.

Sharma, in April this year, had publicly alleged that an audio clip of a purported telephonic conversation between Mr Shekhawat and some Congress leaders on “toppling” the then Congress government in Rajasthan was given to him by the former chief minister.

He claimed Ashok Gehlot had given the pen drive, containing three call recordings, “including two purported recordings of Mr Shekhawat with Congress leaders.

“I transferred the recordings to a laptop and from laptop I transferred to my phone and then circulated to media through social media,” he told PTI.

Mr Sharma said that he was not involved in the call interceptions. “It was done on the directions of the then chief minister,” he said.

The political crisis was the result of rebellion by the then deputy CM Sachin Pilot and 18 other Congress leaders against Mr Gehlot’s leadership.

During the crisis, clips of alleged telephonic conversations between Mr Shekhawat and Congress leaders surfaced following which Mr Gehlot had claimed that Mr Shekhawat was behind the attempt of toppling his government.

Mr Sharma had circulated the clips purportedly containing conversations about “toppling” the Congress government.

In March 2021, Delhi Police registered an FIR against Sharma on charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and unlawfully intercepting telephonic conversations on a complaint from Shekhawat.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi/Jaipur:

In a development that could land former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot in trouble, his ex-officer on special duty (OSD) Lokesh Sharma has held him responsible for phone tapping during the political crisis in the state in 2020.

He said Mr Gehlot should be interrogated in this regard.

Delhi Police questioned Mr Sharma on Wednesday in connection with the phone-tapping case lodged on a complaint by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

After the questioning, Mr Sharma said he submitted a seven-page written statement, describing the sequence of events on July 16, 2020, when he got a pen drive containing call recordings from the then chief minister for circulating to the media.

He said Mr Gehlot could tell how he got the call recordings and whether the call interceptions were done legally or not.

Mr Sharma’s claim this time has marked a shift from his previous stand that he had got three audio clips from social media and forwarded those to media houses.

Mr Sharma was called for questioning at Delhi Police’s Crime Branch office at Rohini. He reached there around 11 am, officials said.

Mr Sharma, in April this year, had publicly alleged that an audio clip of a purported telephonic conversation between Mr Shekhawat and some Congress leaders on “toppling” the then Congress government in Rajasthan in 2020 was given to him by the former chief minister himself.

Today, he mentioned this in the written statement.

“I have stated that the then chief minister had called me at the chief minister’s residence and gave me a pen drive. He directed me to circulate the content of the pen drive to newspapers.

“I went home, transferred the files from the pen drive to my laptop and from laptop to my phone, then circulated them to media houses as directed,” he told PTI.

He said the crime branch should now summon Ashok Gehlot for questioning to know the rest of the details.

“The next course of investigation should involve Ashok Gehlot,” he said.

Mr Sharma said that he was not involved in the call interceptions.

“It was done on the directions of the then chief minister. Now he can disclose further details, how the interception was done, and whether it was legal or illegal,” he said.

Mr Sharma claimed that phones of several Congress MLAs, from both camps of Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, were intercepted at the directions of the chief minister during the political crisis and he used to get a transcription of each call.

He said the then chief secretary, DGP, home secretary and principal secretary to the chief minister were all aware of the developments related to phone tapping.

The phone-tapping controversy erupted in July 2020 during a political crisis when the Congress was in power in Rajasthan.

The crisis was the result of a rebellion by the then deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and 18 other Congress leaders against the leadership of Mr Gehlot.

During the crisis, clips of alleged telephonic conversations between Mr Shekhawat and Congress leaders surfaced, following which Mr Gehlot had alleged that Mr Shekhawat was behind the attempted toppling of his government.

Mr Sharma had circulated the clips purportedly containing conversations about the plan. 

In March 2021, Delhi Police registered an FIR against Mr Sharma on charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and unlawfully intercepting telephonic conversations on a complaint by Mr Shekhawat.

This is Mr Sharma’s sixth appearance before the Crime Branch for questioning. He was last quizzed by Crime Branch officials on October 10, 2023. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s former aide Lokesh Sharma has once again hit out at him over allegations of phone tapping in the previous government and the REET exam paper leak issue.

Timed just a day ahead of the second phase of the Lok Sabha election, Loksh Sharma claimed Mr Gehlot had handed him a pen drive with some audio clips that were then leaked to the media. He claimed he was told that these were interceptions of phone conversations but was not sure if they were legal.

In July 2020, when the Ashok Gehlot government was being rocked by the rebellion of Sachin Pilot and 19 MLAs, certain audio conversations of rebel MLAs like Vishwendra Singh and Bhanwar Lal Sharma were leaked to the media and had gone viral.

One of these conversations was allegedly between Bhanwar Lal, a rebel MLA and Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The purported conversation indicated that the BJP was involved in the attempt to topple the Ashok Gehlot government.

Mr Shekhawat had filed a police case accusing Lokesh Sharma of leaking the alleged conversation. He also filed a defamation case against Mr Gehlot in connection with the issue.

The phone tapping case is being investigated by the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police who had summoned Lokesh Sharma earlier for questioning. He is currently on bail from the Delhi High Court, which has ordered non-coercive action against him

Lokesh Sharma has also alleged that Ashok Gehlot’s close aides were protected by him in the REET paper leak issue of 2022. The leaking of the teachers’ training exam paper or REET was also a political issue raised by the state’s Opposition BJP in last year’s assembly elections.

Mr Sharma has recently been tweeting against his former boss, but this is the first time he has openly spoken out about allegations of phone tapping —  his disclosures timed just a day ahead of voting in Rajasthan and especially voting in Mr Gehlot’s constituency Jodhpur.

Mr Gehlot, who is in Jodhpur after campaigning, has so far not commented on these allegations.