No calls between Khadse and Dawood, CBI probe not required: ATS to court

The Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) has not found any exchange of calls or a “terrorist link” between former minister Eknath Khadse and don Dawood Ibrahim during its  initial inquiry, but has stumbled upon certain “serious things” that need to be probed further, the Bombay high court was told.

However, senior BJP leader Khadse, who resigned from the state Cabinet last month in the wake of a string of allegations, dubbed it as a “clean chit” to him and “vindication of his innocence”.

“The ATS conducted a preliminary inquiry. No terrorist angle has been found as alleged by the hacker. No calls were exchanged between Khadse and underworld don Dawood, as alleged by the hacker,” ATS advocate Niteen Pradhan told a Division Bench.

The High Court was hearing a petition filed by the Gujarat-based hacker Manish Bhangale, who had alleged a “partial probe” by the state machinery and had sought a CBI probe into the matter. The ATS also dismissed the need for a CBI probe.

However, Pradhan mentioned that while no terrorist angle had surfaced in the inquiry, certain other revelations had come to the fore. 

“Certain other serious things have come to the fore during the preliminary inquiry. But those will have to be probed by experts from the city police's cyber crime cell. The ATS will submit its preliminary inquiry report to the cyber crime cell of the police’s crime branch which shall then investigate,” he said.