Mumbai: A civilian car breached the official convoy of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday evening, leading to concerns over the security arrangements of the highest elected official of the State. The Mumbai Police have initiated an inquiry into the incident.
According to police officials, the incident occurred near the Raj Bhavan at around 7.30 p.m., when Thackeray was on his way back after visiting Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.
"A civilian vehicle that was waiting to exit the gate of a residential society along the CM's route suddenly sped forward into the space between the lead vehicle and the second vehicle in the convoy. The vehicle slowed down for a second and then sped away," a Mumbai Police officer said.
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The incident only caused the convoy to slow down for a couple of seconds and did not affect the CM's movement in any way. However, a video of the incident, shot by a passerby on their cell phone, went viral on social media minutes later. Meanwhile, the Malabar Hill police, who had already been informed about the incident, sent a team to the spot. Inquiries were initiated in the building from which the car had exited and the car driver, a woman, was identified.
"The driver has stated that the error was made inadvertently while exiting the society gate. Our inquiries are underway," Additional Commissioner of Police (South Region) Dilip Sawant said.
Sources added that a separate probe will be launched to ascertain if there was any lapse on part of the CM's security detail.
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