Thane

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has found evidence of an alleged conspiracy to falsely implicate Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in connection with a 2016 case registered at Thane Nagar Police Station, sources said.

According to the SIT report, criminal action has been recommended against former Director General of Police Sanjay Pandey, former Deputy Commissioner of Police Laxmikant Patil and Assistant Commissioner Sardar Patil for their alleged role in attempting to frame the two leaders.

The report was submitted to the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) by former DGP Rashmi Shukla shortly before her retirement.

Sources said the report notes that efforts to implicate Fadnavis intensified during the tenure of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and gathered pace after Sanjay Pandey assumed charge as Mumbai Police Commissioner and later as Director General of Police.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra is set to go to the polls for elections to 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, on January 15, with counting of votes scheduled for January 16.

Ahead of the civic polls, Shiv Sena chief and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde campaigned in Pune, asserting that the Mahayuti alliance is contesting the elections on a development-focused agenda.

Speaking to reporters during his visit to Katraj, Shinde said he was unaware of statements made by individual party workers but emphasised that the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party are contesting the polls with full strength.

ALSO READ: Mahmud Akram: the boy who knows 400 languages

“We are fighting this election on the issue of development,” he said, adding that the work carried out during his two-and-a-half-year tenure as Chief Minister, along with initiatives undertaken under Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the past year, is being presented directly to the electorate.