Eknath Khadse faces probe over ‘calls from Dawood’
The Maharashtra government has ordered a probe to determine if revenue minister Eknath Khadse received calls from a number registered at Dawood Ibrahim’s Karachi residence.
This comes after it was reported by an English news channel that Khadse regularly received calls on his cell phone from numbers registered to Dawood’s Ibrahim’s wife — allegations that were made based on data that was retrieved from the database of a Pakistani telecom company’s database by Vadodara-based ethical hacker Manish Bhangale.
Khadse is already mired in controversy after his ‘personal aide’ Gajanan Patil was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly demanding Rs 30 crore. Khadse’s son-in-law was also accused of possessing an illegally modified limousine.
Khadse, while accepting that the number in question indeed belonged to him, nevertheless claimed that he never spoke to Dawood Ibrahim or any members of Ibrahim’s family.
Khadse, in a statement issued by his office, said, “The said number was not in use for one year, so I am not aware if anyone was using this number without my knowledge. I also suspect that my sim card must have been cloned by those who made these alleged calls. But I am confident that the truth will come out at the end of an inquiry.”
This comes after it was reported by an English news channel that Khadse regularly received calls on his cell phone from numbers registered to Dawood’s Ibrahim’s wife — allegations that were made based on data that was retrieved from the database of a Pakistani telecom company’s database by Vadodara-based ethical hacker Manish Bhangale.
Khadse is already mired in controversy after his ‘personal aide’ Gajanan Patil was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly demanding Rs 30 crore. Khadse’s son-in-law was also accused of possessing an illegally modified limousine.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Preeti Sharma Menon demanded Khadse’s resignation.“ It is shocking that the name of a minister in the Maharashtra cabinet figures in the call records of this country’s most wanted man. There will not be a free and fair investigation as long as he is a minister. Khadse should resign or Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should sack him,” Menon said.
Khadse, while accepting that the number in question indeed belonged to him, nevertheless claimed that he never spoke to Dawood Ibrahim or any members of Ibrahim’s family.
Khadse, in a statement issued by his office, said, “The said number was not in use for one year, so I am not aware if anyone was using this number without my knowledge. I also suspect that my sim card must have been cloned by those who made these alleged calls. But I am confident that the truth will come out at the end of an inquiry.”
