Nagpur: BJP MLC Pravin Darekar on Tuesday demanded a special investigation team (SIT) to probe an alleged conspiracy to arrest then Leader of Opposition (LoP) Devendra Fadnavis during MVA rule. He presented a pen drive in the legislative council, claiming it contained videos of a sting operation that revealed the ‘sinister’ plan. Cabinet minister Shambhuraje Desai, speaking on behalf of the govt, said a SIT headed by a senior IPS officer will be constituted to probe the matter.
Darekar said, “Footage of a sting operation shows a deputy police commissioner pressurizing a citizen to make false statements to frame Fadnavis.”
“In another video, ACP Sardar Patil can be seen speaking to another person, who sought to know why an old case was being reopened. That’s when ACP Patil reveals that the original target of the case is Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde,” he said. Shinde at that time was a cabinet minister in Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA govt.
Darekar said a case should be registered and SIT formed. He also demanded action against DCP Laxmikant Patil and former advocate general Shekhar Jagtap. He said former Mumbai police chief Sanjay Pandey was tasked with the job of getting Fadnavis arrested. BJP MLC Prasad Lad said, “A case should be registered against Pandey for being part of the plot.”
Replying on behalf of the govt, cabinet minister Shambhuraje Desai said “We will form a SIT under a senior IPS officer. If former DGP Pandey is found guilty, action will be taken against him too.”
Opposition MLC Sachin Ahir said if such a conspiracy had indeed been hatched then it’s highly regrettable. “But my query is that for almost three years now, the govt has been headed by the same people who have been named as targets.” He questioned why the CM and deputy CM had not yet launched an investigation. “I hope a mountain is not being made out of a molehill,” said Ahir.
