Tapes containing conversation between underworld don Chhota Rajan, and his key aide, D.K. Rao, have been mysteriously doing the rounds here over the past few days, and allegedly leaked by the police.

Rajan is living in South East Asia, while Rao is lodged in the Arthur Road jail. However, they continue to run their rackets in Mumbai. Rao is said to have tremendous clout within the jail, and manages to have access to cellphones.

The police claim to have taped conversation between the don and his aide, in which the names of three controversial Maharashtra ministers figure prominently. They include minister of state for home Siddhram Mhetre, forest minister Babanrao Pachpute, and social justice minister Chandrakant Handore.

Mhetre and Handore are from the Congress, while Pachpute is with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the two ruling front partners.

Deshmukh yesterday brushed aside allegations of their links to the underworld, claiming that just because gangsters were referring to the ministers it did not mean they were guilty. According to him, if the ministers were caught speaking to gangsters, then it could be a serious matter.

The opposition in the Maharashtra legislature has been demanding that Deshmukh drop the three ministers and conduct a thorough probe. The chief minister had assured the opposition that the matter would be investigated, but he now seems to have dismissed any links between the ministers and the underworld.

All three ministers have also denied the charges. Siddhram Mhetre is one of the most controversial ministers in the state, and there have been allegations in the past, of his aides demanding bribes from owners of dance bars in the state.

But the selective leaks of the tapes, especially those with names of Congress ministers, are leading to tension between the two ruling front partners. The home ministry is controlled by R.R. Patil, the NCP leader, who is also the deputy chief minister.

Congress leaders and workers have always been unhappy with his functioning, and recently there have been allegations of his favouring a jeweller, whose vehicle was caught with millions of rupees in cash and jewellery at a police post in the early hours of the morning.

Patil has denied any wrongdoing, though police officials who seized the vehicle were allegedly transferred, following their action.

Allegations of the police being misused to settle political scores are also surfacing, especially with selective raids on dance bars and discotheques being conducted by the cops.