The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Mumbai Police on Thursday recorded the statement of BJP MLA Praveen Darekar in connection with an alleged conspiracy to frame Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis during the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) regime. Darekar appeared before Mumbai Joint Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) Satyanarayan Chaudhary to present his statement.
The Maharashtra Home Department had set up the SIT following allegations that attempts were made to falsely implicate Fadnavis, who was then the Leader of the Opposition, and Shinde, then the Urban Development Minister, in fabricated cases. The SIT has been instructed to submit its findings within 30 days.
The investigative team, led by Joint CP Satyanarayan Chaudhary, includes DIG Rajiv Jain, DCP Navnath Dhawale, and ACP Adikrao Pol.
During the Maharashtra Legislative Council’s winter session in Nagpur last December, Darekar had raised concerns over an alleged plot to frame Fadnavis and Shinde. He claimed that false cases were being registered against them with the intent to arrest them. Following his demand for an SIT probe, the state government approved the investigation.
Darekar further alleged that this conspiracy was orchestrated during Uddhav Thackeray’s tenure as Chief Minister. He claimed that there were deliberate attempts to entangle Fadnavis in fabricated cases and have him arrested. Based on his demand, the state government formed the SIT to investigate the matter.