Phone-tapping case: Gehlot's ex-OSD hands over 'evidence' to Delhi Police's crime branch

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.

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 Sharma on Wednesday last week in connection with a phone-tapping case lodged on a complaint by 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 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 Shekhawat and some Congress leaders on "toppling" the then Congress government in Rajasthan was given to him by the former chief minister.

He claimed Gehlot had given the pen drive, containing three call recordings, ”including two purported recordings of 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.

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 Gehlot's leadership.

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

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.