Dilip Wasle-Patil meets Uddhav Thackeray over law & order situation & recent arrest of terror suspects having links with Nanded

In the run up to the Shiv Sena's rally on May 14 followed by BJP’s public meeting on May 15 in Mumbai, a threat letter to Raj Thackeray and his party’s protest against Azaan and the arrest of four alleged terrorists linked to Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) in Haryana’s Karnal town, for their connection to Nanded, the Home Minister Dilip Wasle-Patil met the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday. Walse-Patil confirmed his interaction with CM claiming that it was a routine meeting.

However, a senior home department official told the Free Press Journal, ‘’Home Minister briefed the CM the law and order situation and the steps taken in districts and cities to maintain social and communal harmony against the backdrop of Azaan-Hanuman Chalisa controversy. This apart, the HM also informed CM the security arrangements in Mumbai especially to avoid any untoward incidents on May 14 and 15 during the rallies organised by Shiv Sena and BJP respectively.’’

The officer said the arrest of four alleged terrorists linked to Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) in Haryana’s Karnal town for their connection to Nanded also came up for discussion. The four, identified as Gurpreet, Amandeep, Parminder and Bhupinder, were arrested by the Haryana Police last Thursday. The police said they were on their way to Adilabad in Telangana to deliver a consignment of 7.5 kg RDX, 30 live cartridges, a pistol, and Rs 1.3 lakh in cash when they were apprehended.

Incidentally, Wasle-Patil, who is visiting Nanded on Saturday, will chair the meeting with the district police officials to review the law and order situation. The arrest of four alleged terrorists and their Nanded link will be discussed at length as also the steps were taken by the district police to avoid terror activities there.

During the meeting, HM also briefed the CM about the unrest among sugarcane growers due to pending crushing.

Already Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has appealed to the farmers not to take any extreme steps and assured them that the crushing of standing cane will be completed.

Meanwhile, Walse Patil later met State intelligence Department head Ashutosh Dumbre and the Anti-Terrorist Squad chief Vinit Agarwal. Dumbre shared intelligence inputs while Agarwal submitted update with regard to the interrogation of the terror suspects.

Published on: Thursday, May 12, 2022, 08:49 PM IST