Office-bearers of the saffron outfit allege their phones are being tapped by police.
The divide between BJP and Vishwa Hindu Parishad seems to be getting wider. Two days after many VHP office bearers were detained by police on eve of Surat Bandh call, one of the outfit’s office bearers has claimed threat to his life from police, and also accused police of illegally tapping their phones.
Surat VHP secretary, Durlabh Bhalala, who was forcibly taken away from a press conference on Monday, produced an affidavit before media on Wednesday in which he expressed serious threat to his life.
“I fear there is a danger to me, my business and my life from the home department and the police. If anything happens to me or my family or my colleagues in VHP and RSS, the home department and police will be responsible for it,” Bhalala said in the affidavit.
Bhalala claimed he was mistreated by the police while in detention on Monday evening. “The police also said that they will make me say things about my senior and junior colleagues in the VHP and RSS on camera and use them to defame the organisations and leaders,” Bhalala claimed.
According to the affidavit, the police officials questioning Bhalala in custody had claimed to have transcripts of phone taping of Pravin Togadia and other VHP & RSS leaders. Following the officials’ claims, VHP leaders are now demanding an inquiry into the phone tapping episode.
“The state government needs to explain why phones of Pravinbhai Togadia, Durlabh Bhalala and other VHP leaders were tapped. We want to know who ordered the illegal phone tapping and why,” Utkarsh Patel, joint secretary, VHP, South Gujarat, told reporters. Surat police commissioner Shivanand Jha was in a meeting and could not be reached for a comment.
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