Battling charges of graft, as well as alleged links to gangster Dawood Ibrahim, Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse on Tuesday demanded action against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Preeti Sharma-Menon and two others for hacking a website and violating norms of the Information Technology Act.
Ms. Menon had held a press conference on Saturday presenting data provided by ethical hackers Manish Bhangale and Jayesh Dave, which claimed that Mr. Khadse was in contact with the gangster, who is residing in Pakistan, between September 5, 2015 and April 6, 2016.
In a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Mr. Khadse on Tuesday said that in order to obtain this dubious information, the hackers have illegally hacked the website, which is a crime under section 65 and section 66 F (1) (B) of IT act. “This is a crime of serious nature and the three of them should be probed by the cyber cell of the Mumbai police,” said Mr. Khadse in his letter to the CM, who is in charge of the Home Department.
Mr. Khadse has claimed that his number was not in use for the past one year, and demanded an inquiry as to how the phone number was active despite being out of use.
When contacted, Ms. Menon welcomed the demand made by the Minister. “Let them arrest me, but at the same time Mr. Khadse must also resign till the time investigation in the case is over,” she said. A delegation led by AAP leader held a meeting with Mumbai Police Commissioner Datta Padsalgikar, handing over new piece of evidence dug out by the hacker in relation with Mr. Khadse’s alleged phone conversations with the gangster.
