Mumbai: In a sudden development on Friday, the Mahayuti government decided to appoint a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged conspiracy to frame Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde, who were the opposition leader and Urban Development Minister when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was in power.

About The Alleged Conspiracy

The alleged conspiracy involved registering false criminal cases against the duo. The SIT will be headed by Satyanarayan Chaudhary, who oversees the law-and-order wing of the Mumbai Police, according to a Government Resolution (GR) issued by the State Home Department. The decision to constitute the SIT follows information shared by BJP MLC Pravin Darekar in the state legislative council during the winter session in December 2024, according to the GR.

According to Darekar, a conspiracy was hatched to register false cases against Fadnavis and Shinde. He stated that he had evidence in the form of an audio clip. It is also significant that the home department was under the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) when the MVA was in power. The department was headed by Anil Deshmukh until early July, followed by Dilip Walse Patil. While Deshmukh is with the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the NCP, Walse Patil joined the Ajit Pawar-led group that rebelled in July 2023.

The SIT includes Rajiv Jain, DIG of the State Reserve Police Force; Navnath Dhavle, DCP, Mumbai Police; Adikrao Pol, ACP, Mumbai; and Satyanarayan Chaudhary. The SIT has been instructed to complete its probe within 30 days.