The Maharashtra government on Monday ordered an investigation by a two-member committee into allegations of phone tapping of rival politicians when the Devendra Fadnavis-led Bharatiya Janata Party government was in power in the state, reported the Pune Mirror. “We have given them six weeks to complete it,” said state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

The committee will consist of Additional Chief Secretary Shrikant Singh and Joint Commissioner (intelligence) Amitesh Kumar. “We have received a letter from the home minister to appoint a committee to investigate the allegations of phone tapping this morning,” Additional Chief Secretary (home) Sanjay Kumar told the Hindustan Times. “It will now be sent to the Chief Minister [Uddhav Thackeray] for approval.”

In January, Deshmukh had alleged that the phones of the leaders, including Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray and Sena leader Sanjay Raut were tapped by the previous Fadnavis government before the Lok Sabha elections in April-May, as well as the state assembly polls in October. Raut, too, had claimed that a senior BJP leader had alerted him about phone tapping.

Fadnavis, however, had denied the allegations. He had also pointed out that the Shiv Sena was part of the state home ministry during his tenure as the chief minister. The saffron party lost power in November, following which the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress formed a coalition government in the state.