gMumbai: The Maharashtra Home Department has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine allegations that the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, led by Uddhav Thackeray, was planning to arrest Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis in a fabricated case. Senior cabinet minister Shambhuraje Desai announced the formation of the SIT in the assembly on Tuesday, stating that the team would be led by a senior IPS officer.
The decision follows claims made by businessman Sanjay Punamiya, who cited media reports featuring sting operations. According to these reports, a former police officer was heard in a recorded phone conversation suggesting that the then-Mumbai Police Commissioner was preparing to arrest Shinde and Fadnavis. Punamiya alleged that their arrests were to be linked to a case against him, NDTV reported.
SIT probe ordered
After the revelations, BJP MLC Pravin Darekar demanded an SIT probe into the alleged conspiracy. He presented a pen drive in the legislative council, claiming it contained videos from the sting operation exposing the purported plan. The SIT, headed by Mumbai police officer Satyanarayan Chaudhary, has been given a 30-day deadline to submit its report to the government.
Maharashtra Assembly elections
The Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 took place on November 20, 2024. The election saw a turnout of 66.05 per cent, the highest since 1995. The BJP-led Maha Yuti alliance won a landslide victory, securing 235 seats out of 288. The alliance consisted of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena (SHS) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The results marked a huge win for the BJP, with Devendra Fadnavis being finalised as the Maharashtra Chief Minister. Fadnavis took oath as the Chief Minister for the third time on December 5, 2024. The election also saw the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, consisting of the Indian National Congress (INC), Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), failing to secure the necessary number of seats to obtain the position of leader of opposition.
