Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal says cop entered his room to snoop

Claiming this was the third such incident after he had been appointed state Congress president, Sapkal said, “The BJP has a history of spying on opponents. Earlier, it was Pegasus, where phones were tapped and now the police are being sent inside the bedrooms of opposition leaders

MUMBAI: Maharashtra state Congress president Harshavardhan Sapkal on Friday claimed the Mumbai police was keeping watch on him, alleging that an officer in plainclothes had entered his room at his official accommodation in Mumbai. Sapkal said he had asked the police officer if he was there on the orders of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also heads the state home department.

Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal says cop entered his room to snoop

“This morning, a police officer in civil dress entered Sarvodaya Ashram, where I have been staying since I became Maharashtra Congress president. He then entered my bedroom and asked me whether I was going to speak to the press,” Sapkal told the media on Friday.

Claiming this was the third such incident after he had been appointed state Congress president, Sapkal said, “The BJP has a history of spying on opponents. Earlier, it was Pegasus, where phones were tapped and now the police are being sent inside the bedrooms of opposition leaders.”

The senior Congress leader said he phoned the Gamdevi police station, as the policeman snooping at his accommodation had said he was following orders from the higher authorities. But the Gamdevi police said they were not aware of the matter.

Revenue minister and senior BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule dismissed Sapkal’s allegation, saying snooping took place during the Congress and Maha Vikas Aghadi rule. “Our only agenda is development of the state and its people... we have no time for snooping on anyone,’’ Bawankule said.

Sapkal also raised questions about the gunning down of Rohit Aarrya, who took 17 children and two adults hostage at a studio in Powai on Thursday. “The man had held children hostage, and their rescue was important. But when an NSG team was already at the spot, why did the police need to open fire?”

Sapkal added, “He was said to be mentally unstable, but he had worked on government projects such as Majhi Shala Sundar Shala and had even shared the stage with then chief minister Eknath Shinde and education minister Deepak Kesarkar. A probe must be ordered into this incident.”

The state Congress chief also accused Fadnavis of shielding criminals. “The woman doctor’s death in Phaltan was not suicide but murder caused by pressure from BJP leaders. Despite serious allegations against former MP Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar, including extortion and assault, he was given a clean chit. Incidents of harassment by BJP functionaries have led to suicides in other districts as well. Crime has flourished on Fadnavis’s watch, and he has become the patron of criminals,” he alleged.