Mumbai:
The Maharashtra Home Department has formed a Special Investigation Team to investigate whether the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi government headed by Uddhav Thackeray was planning to arrest then Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde and in a fake case.
The probe team was announced in the assembly on Tuesday by senior cabinet minister Shambhuraje Desai, who said it would be headed by a senior IPS officer.
The move came after a businessman, Sanjay Punamiya, claimed the media has aired sting operations in which a former police officer, during a telephonic conversation, said the former Mumbai Police chief was preparing to get Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde arrested.
The arrest, he claimed, would be linked to a case against him.
Following the claims, BJP MLC Pravin Darekar demanded that a SIT be set up to investigate the conspiracy.
He even presented a pen drive in the legislative council, claiming it contains videos of a sting operation that revealed the plan.
This SIT – which has been asked to submit its report to the government within 30 days — will be headed by Mumbai police officer Satyanarayan Chaudhary.
The Opposition has scoffed at the claims, questioning why the Mahayuthi government is making this move now, despite being in power for more than three years.