Sharma (L) is said to have told cops that Gehlot gave him a pen drive with record- ings of tapped conversations N EW DELHI: Delhi Police on Monday arrested Lokesh Sharma , then OSD of former Rajasthan CM and Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot , in the phone-tapping case. Although Sharma secured bail, police are likely to seek his remand for custodial interrogation, sources said. Police didn't confirm reports of Sharma turning approver.
The allegations date back to July 2020 when Gehlot faced a rebellion from deputy CM Sachin Pilot and the latter's loyalists. IPL 2025 mega auction IPL Auction 2025: Who went where and for how much IPL 2025: Complete list of players of each franchise An FIR was registered on March 25, 2021, on complaint by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat , Union minister and Jodhpur BJP MP. The FIR accused Sharma of circulating audio clips of alleged telephonic conversations between Shekhawat and Congress functionaries, apparently discussing toppling the Gehlot govt.
Sharma arrest is expected to open a can of worms. He was questioned multiple times over the last four years, with the last interrogation in Sept this year. He is learnt to have said Gehlot handed him a pen drive containing audio recordings.
Sharma had alleged that Gehlot instructed him to release the recordings to the media, while insisting that only the former CM could provide further details. Sharma submitted the pen drive and other evidence to Delhi Police. Delhi HC had lifted the stay on his arrest on Nov 1.