Maha BJP minister Eknath Khadse denies being in touch with Dawood

On Saturday, the Maharashtra government ordered a probe into the case.

Maharashtra BJP minister Eknath Khadse, who is allegedly on underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s most-dialled list, has denied the charges claiming that neither he nor his family members have ever spoken to the gangster.

A few days ago, India Today had published a report based on information revealed by an ethical hacker named Manish Bhangale from Vadodara, stating that frequent calls were made from a number belonging to Dawood to a mobile phone in India, registered under the Maharashtra leader’s name.

Bhangale had hacked into the call details of four phones, all of which were registered under the name of Daowood’s wife Mehjabeen Shaikh.

The records are for a seven-month period from September 5, 2015 to April 5, 2016. Senior officials of India's intelligence agencies had confirmed that the 4 telephone numbers were indeed those which were being monitored by India as numbers used by Dawood and his family.

On Saturday, the Maharashtra government ordered a probe into the case.

The opposition parties immediately targeted Khadse. "Minister Eknath Khadse has to resign, otherwise a free and fair investigation cannot take place,” said AAP leader Preeti Sharma Menon.

While Khadse admitted that the number belonged to him, he blatantly denied the allegations that he was in touch with Dawood. However, Khadse said he cannot explain why so many calls were made from Dawood’s telephone numbers to his phone. He claimed that the phone number was not in use for the last one year, and suggested that the number may have been cloned.

"I have asked the CM and Jalgaon SP to probe if any person is using this number. I have also asked the CM to initiate an in-depth inquiry into the Gajanan Patil bribery issue," Khadse said, dismissing Sharma's allegations.

(This story originally appeared on Deccan Chronicle as may the case be)