"Former CM, his team conspired to trap BJP's representatives": Rajasthan Minister Jogaram Patel on phone tapping case

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], November 26 (ANI): Rajasthan's Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel on Tuesday alleged that former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his team "conspired" to trap BJP's representatives by getting their phones tapped and said that his former OSD Lokesh Sharma himself "exposed" the whole thing.
On Monday, Lokesh Sharma former OSD of former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot was arrested by Delhi Police in a phone tapping case and later he was granted bail.
"The former CM and his team conspired to trap BJP's representatives by getting their phones tapped and giving different statements. Their OSD Lokesh Sharma himself exposed the whole thing to the media and was one of the prime conspirators. So it was reasonable for him to get arrested. Whether he gets bail or not, that is a matter of law," Jogaram Patel said.
Lokesh Sharma was arrested and later granted bail by the court. He had been summoned multiple times by the Delhi Police for questioning in the case.
On March 25, 2021, the Delhi Police registered an FIR against Sharma on charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and unlawful interception of telegraphic signals (telephonic conversations). The complaint was filed by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the BJP MP from Jodhpur.
Earlier this year, in a startling revelation, Sharma alleged that the purported audio clip of a phone conversation involving Union Minister Shekhawat and certain Congress figures, discussing the ousting of the Congress government in 2020, was provided to him by Gehlot.
"Until now, I told everyone that I received those audio clips from social media. But that is not the truth. On July 16, 2020, some audio clips went viral through the media because I shared them using my phone number. In those audios, there was a conspiracy to topple the government by poaching MLAs," Sharma said during a press conference on April 25 in Jaipur.
He further claimed that Gehlot was involved in tapping the phones of rebel Congress leaders, including Sachin Pilot. He stated that the audio clips of rebel Congress leaders, which were shared with news organisations, had been given to him by the former Rajasthan Chief Minister.
He elaborated, "On July 16, 2020, Ashok Gehlot came to Hotel Fairmont, where the rebel leaders were staying. An hour after the CM left, his PSO Ramniwas called me and asked me to come to the CM House as the CM wanted to meet me. When I arrived, the CM handed me a pen drive and a paper, which I circulated through the media. The paper allegedly referred to a conversation between Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Late MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma, and Sanjay Jain, and the pen drive contained their audio." (ANI)