The Election Commission had ordered Shukla’s immediate transfer as the Maharashtra Director General of Police ahead of the Assembly elections.
Days after Maharashtra assembly elections results, controversial IPS officer Rashmi Shukla has once again been reinstated as Maharashtra’s DGP.
The Election Commission had ordered Shukla’s immediate transfer as the Maharashtra Director General of Police ahead of the Assembly elections.
Sanjay Verma was appointed as Maharashtra state’s interim Director General of Police (DGP) by the Election Commission
The order was issued on November 4 amid allegations from the Congress and other MVA allies that Shukla was biased against the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in the state.
The Congress’ state unit on Monday asked the Election Commission to take action against Indian Police Service officer Rashmi Shukla, alleging that she met Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the Home Minster of the state, in violation of the Model Code of Conduct during the Assembly elections in the state, reported Scroll.
Congress chief spokesperson Atul Londhe alleged that Shukla met Fadnavis at his official residence on November 23, during the counting of votes for the Assembly elections, while the Model Code of Conduct was still in effect.
Londhe also cited a similar incident in Telangana, where Director General of Police Anjani Kumar faced action for meeting the then Chief Minister-designate A Revanth Reddy during the elections.
“Why is the EC [Election Commission] quick to act in non-BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] states but appears blind to such violations in states ruled by the saffron party?” Londhe asked. “This raises serious questions.”
Shukla is a 1988-batch IPS officer who went on to become the first woman DGP. Shukla was considered close to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis; she has previously worked as the commissioner of the State Intelligence Department. Reports suggest that After the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA came to power in 2019, several officers, including Shukla, who were said to be close to Fadnavis, were sidelined. Shukla was transferred from the State Intelligence Department to Civil Defence during the MVA regime. Shukla was then on central deputation, serving as Additional Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force and then the chief of the Sashastra Seema Bal.
Later, two FIRs were filed against Shukla, accusing her of tapping the phones of several leaders, including Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole and the Nationalist Congress Party leader Eknath Khadse, during Fadnavis’ tenure as CM between 2014 and 2019.
The Bombay High Court in 2023 quashed two cases on Shukla’s plea. The third case was transferred to the CBI. Later, this case was closed after the court allowed the CBI’s closure report, paving the way for her return to the state. Shukla was scheduled to retire in June 2024. However, the state goverment extended her tenure.
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