Phone Tapping Case: Will Rajasthan CM’s OSD Appear Before Delhi Police Today? Lokesh Sharma Had Skipped Previous Summons

| Updated: 12 November, 2021 2:35 pm IST

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot (Picture credit: Twitter account)

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police Crime Branch has summoned Lokesh Sharma, the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and directed him to appear before the Investigating Officer (IO) on Friday.

Lokesh Sharma has been evading summons by the Delhi Police Crime Branch in connection with an alleged phone tapping case. A senior Delhi Police official told The New Indian that they have issued summons to the OSD to Rajasthan CM under under under Section 41 A (3) and (4) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) with a warning of arrest if he fails to present himself before the investigation officer (IO).

It’s pertinent to mention here that Sharma had skipped Police summons on two earlier occasions. He was served notices by the Crime Branch on July 24, 2021.

Sharma did not appear before the IO earlier. Crime Branch issued second notice to Sharma on October 17, 2021 and asked him to appear on October 22, 2021 but he didn’t pay heed to the summons. Meanwhile, he had approached a court and sought protection from arrest. The court has stayed his arrest till January 13, 2022.

It may be recalled that Union Jalshakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had lodged a complaint with Tughlak Road Police Station on March 25, 2021, alleging that his phones were illegally intercepted by Rajasthan CM’s OSD Lokesh Sharma who then circulated the audio clips in the media to tarnish his image. In his complaint, Shekhawat had also alleged that the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) of Rajasthan government had categorically denied authorizing any person to intercept calls.

A first information report (FIR) was registered under section 26 of the Indian Telegraph Act, section 72/72A of the Information Technology Act and sections 120B and 409 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The case was later transferred to the Crime Branch.

A senior police official added:

The IO has served summons to Sharma and asked him to appear before him on July 24, 2021 but he didn’t report. He was again issued summons on October 17 of this year but he skipped. The IO then issued summons to the OSD to the Rajasthan CM under specific provisions of the CrPC and warning him of arrest if he failed to appear for questioning