Overview
- Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut alleged that four current ministers and multiple government officials were ensnared in honeytrap operations and demanded a CBI inquiry, citing a photo of Prafulla Lodha with BJP minister Girish Mahajan as proof
- Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other BJP leaders have denied any blackmail cases, challenging the opposition to produce concrete evidence in support of the allegations
- Andheri Police arrested Prafulla Lodha, a close aide of Minister Mahajan, seizing his laptop, mobile phone and pen drive as part of ongoing sexual offence and honeytrap investigations
- Saamana, the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece, claimed hidden cameras and Pegasus-style surveillance were used in 2022 to destabilise the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, renewing demands for an impartial judicial probe
- With no formal state inquiry launched and tensions mounting ahead of upcoming civic elections, opposition parties are united in pressing for an independent probe while the ruling coalition maintains its stance of denial