Mumbai police gives clean chit to Eknath Khadse

Bengaluru/Mumbai: After Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Preeti Sharma Menon on Friday raised the issue of Maharashtra BJP minister Eknath Khadse was on the most dialled list of Mumbai underworld fugitive Dawood Ibrahim's international call list, the Mumbai Police said that there have been neither outgoing nor incoming from the cell number to that of the fugitive during the entire period of September 2015 to April 2016 as mentioned in the press conference. In a clean chit to Khadse, Mumbai Crime Branch Joint Commissioner Atulchandra Kulkarni said, "When the issue of contact of an honourable minister of Government of Maharashtra with Mumbai underworld fugitive Dawood Ibrahim based abroad cropped up today in a press conference, we checked the details and our initial analysis of the cell phone records of the number (9423073667) indicated that there have been neither outgoing nor incoming from the cell number to that of the fugitive during the entire period of September 2015 to April 2016 as mentioned in the press conference." Attacking the AAP leader for levelling "baseless allegations" against him, Khadse said, "Rather, I want to say people who are levelling allegations against me, how do know about Dawood's number. If they know Dawood's number, they should go to police and lodge a complaint. Levelling charges against me in the media for cheap publicity is not a good thing." "All allegations levelled against me are baseless. I have received or made no international call from my mobile in the past one year, which my service provider 'Idea' has given me in writing," the minister said. "When no international call was made or received from my number, then there is no question of speaking to Dawood," he added.

Certificate from Idea cellular company for the said number. pic.twitter.com/nYV46ec7hD

— Eknath Khadse (@EknathKhadseBJP) May 21, 2016

"I am ready for an inquiry by any agency but at the same time, I demand that an inquiry should also be marked against those who are levelling charges against me as to how did they get Dawood's number," he contended. "The entire world is after Dawood, and they got his number, it means that there is something. How do they know that it's Dawood's number and I have spoken to Dawood only? If they have Dawood's number, and when America and entire world is unable to find him, they should have gone to police and inform them. It's their responsibility as citizen of India," said Khadse, adding that the allegations are baseless. When asked considering the matter serious, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis marked an inquiry, and if he was ready for that, he said, "It's nice that the CM considered it serious. We (CM and I) had spoken about it two-three days earlier. That is why I sought the call details for the past one year. This is anti-national activity that calls for stringent punishment like hanging."