Fadnavis orders forensic probe of audio clip alleging Rs 500 crore paid to Jarange via Shrikant Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in Nagpur on Friday that the audio clip made public by Manoj Jarange will be sent for forensic examination. The clip claims that Rs 500 crore was given to Jarange through Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde.

Fadnavis had come to vote in the Nagpur graduates' constituency election to the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC). After voting, he spoke to reporters and set out the state government's position on the political controversy.

The matter began when Manoj Jarange Patil, a leading figure of the Maratha reservation movement, alleged on Thursday that a large conspiracy had been hatched to silence him and weaken the Maratha agitation. In response, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde openly challenged Jarange. He said Jarange should prove that he took Rs 500 crore from the BJP and passed the money on through Shinde's son, MP Shrikant Shinde.

After this challenge, Jarange made the audio clip public. In the clip, which has gone viral, a woman is allegedly heard claiming that Rs 500 crore was given to Jarange through Shrikant Shinde.

Fadnavis raised serious questions about the timing of the clip's emergence. He said, "The one question in all our minds is why this conversation has surfaced only now, after two and a half years. What is the real intention behind making it public now? Who is being targeted, and for what purpose?"

In the audio circulating on social media, some people are allegedly heard discussing strategies to counter Manoj Jarange's influence in the Marathwada region. The recording also speaks of the possible political impact of Jarange's growing influence ahead of the 2024 Assembly election. It also mentions Maratha and OBC leaders weighing its effect.

In the audio, one person is heard claiming that Jarange is portraying the BJP as anti-Maratha. A delegation of Shiv Sena leaders and legislators also met Fadnavis on the issue. They questioned the names of some BJP leaders that figure in the audio.

Fadnavis said Jarange himself has also sought an inquiry into the audio. Shiv Sena and the BJP have also demanded an impartial investigation. He reiterated that since all three sides, Shiv Sena, the BJP and Manoj Jarange himself, want an impartial inquiry, the whole matter will be examined by forensic methods. Whatever the truth is, it will be brought out, he said.