Man pretending to be Sharad Pawar calls Mantralaya to discuss transfers; probed & arrested

In a bizarre incident, Mumbai Crime Branch on Thursday arrested a man along with two others for allegedly calling Maharashtra Home Department officials about transfer-related issues posing as NCP chief Sharad Pawar. As per PTI, the Home Department officials at Mantralaya, the Maharashtra government's headquarters, suspected that somebody was mimicking Pawar's voice over the phone and alerted police.

A case was registered under IPC section 419 (cheating by personation) at Gamdevi Police Station on Wednesday night, said a police official. The Anti Extortion Cell (AEC) of the Mumbai crime branch also initiated a parallel investigation and arrested the main accused along with his two aides (names not yet disclosed), he said.

Investigation revealed that the man had used a call-spoofing app that facilitates voice change. The NCP is part of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra. 

Similar calls had been made regarding land transactions from Chakan area of  Pune district on August 9 and an FIR was registered at Chakan police station, the official said, adding that the probe was on. 

Sharad Pawar alleges outsiders were called in to manhandle MPs in RS

On the topic of the stalled Parliament sessions after continuous ruckus in Rajya Sabha & Lok Sabha, Sharad Pawar on Wednesday alleged that 'women MPs were attacked' and 'more than 40 men and women were brought into the House from outside to control the MPs'.

However, Union minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday rejected claims that outsiders were brought in Rajya Sabha to manhandle Opposition members, saying Marshals neither belong to the ruling side nor the opposition and alleged that it was a woman marshal who was in fact manhandled by those members.

On Sharad Pawar's allegation, Goyal said that the NCP chief was probably "wrongly informed" and also asked him to introspect on the behavior of his "colleagues in Opposition".

"Let me clarify, Pawar was wrongly informed, may be, by somebody. Their figures are wrong and their allegations are also wrong that they were outsiders who came in," Goyal said as reported by PTI. 

Since the commencement of the Monsoon Session on July 19, the Parliament has been marked by sloganeering, leaders rushing to the Well of the House with placards, tearing of papers, as a sign of protest against a gamut of issues, starting from the Pegasus report to the Farm laws.

(Image Credits: PTI/Unsplash)