May summon Shukla again, says cyber cell

The cyber cell of the Mumbai Police may issue another summon to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Special Director General Rashmi Shukla in the alleged illegal phone tapping case. Shukla didn't turn up at the cyber cell, on Wednesday, to record her statement citing the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, she demanded that a questionnaire be sent that she could reply to, a police official said.

The cyber department had, on Monday, summoned Shukla, currently posted in Hyderabad. Replying to the summon on Tuesday via email, Shukla had expressed her inability to appear before the department due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the official said. The senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer had also requested that a questionnaire be sent to her to avoid any delay in the investigation, he added.

However, the police is not satisfied with her reply and is likely to summon her again, the official said. "Another summon could be issued to Shukla," said a police officer.

On Monday, the cyber cell had issued a summon to Shukla at her residence in Hyderabad in connection with the case of alleged illegal phone tapping.

An FIR was registered under the Official Secrets Act at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) cyber police station against unidentified persons for allegedly tapping phones illegally and leaking certain confidential documents on the complaint filed by the State Intelligence Department.