NCP leader Dhananjay Munde on Monday, 21 January, demanded a probe either by the RAW or a Supreme Court judge into the death of his uncle and former Union minister Gopinath Munde after a cyber expert claimed that the BJP leader was "killed" as he was aware of hacking of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Dhananjay, who is the leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, also termed the claims made by the self-proclaimed US-based Indian cyber expert as "shocking".
He said those who loved Gopinath had always raised questions over his death wondering “if it actually was an accident or a sabotage. Hence, the startling claims made by cyber expert Syed Shuja in a live press conference backs the suspicion”.
Munde died in a road accident in New Delhi weeks after BJP won the 2014 elections.
He had tweeted:
The cyber expert, identified as Syed Shuja, who is seeking political asylum in the US, on Monday, 21 January, claimed that the 2014 elections were "rigged" through the electronic voting machines (EVMs), which, he said, can be hacked.
The Election Commission of India has denied the charge.
Addressing a press conference in London via Skype, Shuja said, he fled India in 2014 because he felt threatened in the country after the killing of some of his team members.
The cyber expert also claimed that BJP leader Munde was "killed" because he was aware of EVM hacking in the elections.
He provided no evidence to back up his claim.
Shuja also claimed that NIA officer Tanzil Ahmed, who was investigating Munde's death, was planning to file an FIR noting that the BJP leader had been murdered, but was himself killed.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in October 2014 ruled out any foul play in the death of Gopinath Munde, claiming that the politician had died due to injuries sustained in a road accident.
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