Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Congress seeks removal of DGP Rashmi Shukla, writes to EC

Mumbai: Ahead of the Election Commission's visit to Mumbai this week to review preparations of the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, the Congress on Tuesday demanded the removal of Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla.

“The Election Commission of India (ECI) must immediately sack Shukla so that these elections can be conducted in a fair environment,” Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole said.

In a letter to the ECI, Patole flagged the issue of continuance of Shukla, a 1988 batch IPS officer, as the state DGP, with the additional charge of Director General of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

“Rashmi Shukla was due to retire on June 30 2024, upon reaching the age of superannuation.... However, she has been illegally granted an extension until January 2026, in a direct violation of the Maharashtra Police Act, which stipulates that the DGP of the state shall have a term of two years or until their retirement, whichever is earlier,” Patole said.

According to him, in addition to this unlawful extension, Shukla has a history of engaging in illegal activities that raise serious concerns about her impartiality and ability to perform her duties with integrity.

“She has been involved in the illegal tapping of opposition leaders' phones without proper authorization, misleading competent authorities in the process. Despite several cases being registered against her, these cases were shelved following the change of government in Maharashtra, with the BJP coming into power,” Patole alleged in the letter.

“During her tenure as DGP, she has actively misused her position to harass and threaten opposition leaders, often generating false inquiries and registering baseless cases against them. She has acted as a political campaigner for the BJP, compromising the integrity and non-partisan nature of her role as a senior police officer,” the letter states.

"As the DG in charge of the ACB, she has summoned opposition party leaders and members to police stations and ACB offices, using her powers to coerce and intimidate them. Furthermore, she has aligned the State Intelligence Department (SID) with the interests of the BJP, a trend observed during her previous tenure as Commissioner of SID," said Patole.