Khadse has already rubbished the allegation that calls were made to his number from Dawood's Karachi residence between September 2015 and April 2016.
Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse on Tuesday said he has written to the Ministry of External Affairs, the Union Home Minister and the Maharashtra Chief Minister, seeking a thorough probe into the allegations that he received phone calls from fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim.
He also demanded action under the Information Technology Act against 'ethical hacker' Manish Bhangale, who claims to have hacked the website of a Pakistani telecom company to get the call records. The minister has already rubbished the allegation that calls were made to his number from Dawood's Karachi residence between September 2015 and April 2016, saying that the number was not in use for the past one year. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had last week demanded a probe into the matter.
"The allegations against me are serious and I think there should be a detailed inquiry. So I have written a letter to the MEA, Union Home Minister and the (Maharashtra) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, asking for a thorough probe," Khadse told reporters here. Mumbai police have already given a clean chit to Khadse, saying no international calls were made to his cell phone. AAP spokesperson Preeti Menon last week showed purported call records of the same number, obtained by Ahmedabad-based hacker Manish Bhangale, and accused Khadse of hiding facts.
Khadse today said he had also sent a letter to the Mumbai police commissioner, seeking action against Bhangale. "Bhangale has violated IT laws and there should be a probe and action against him. Also, action should be taken against Jayesh Dave, who according to Bhangale provided Rs 85 lakh to hack the site, and AAP leader Preeti Menon who used the hacked data without informing the police," he said.
Meanwhile, when asked if his detractors within the state cabinet could be behind these allegations, Khadse said nobody would try and put him in trouble as he was the senior-most minister.
He also dismissed the speculation that Chief Minister Fadnavis himself could be behind the creation of this controversy, saying that he had excellent rapport with him.
"It has never happened that I made some suggestion on the basis of my knowledge and experience and he (Fadnavis) rejected it," Khadse said.
"I have spent 40 years in politics and I always speak with evidence in hand. Party leaders have faith in me and it is not easy to level (baseless) charges against me and get away with it," Khadse said.
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