PUNE/MUMBAI: The terrorists threat to blow up the Pune police commissioner’s headquarters yesterday echoed in both houses of the state legislature in its ongoing winter session in Nagpur, with the state Home Minister Jayant Patil assuring the members that adequate security measures have already been taken to protect the police headquarters from any terrorist attacks.
Answering questions during the zero hour from the Bharatiya Janata Party legislators Gopinath Munde and Girish Bapata, the home minister said that the state government had received an alert ten days ago from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) that the Pune police office was one of the targets of the terrorists and therefore security was beefed up to the maximum.
Munde referred to the statements issued by the city’s Joint Commissioner of Police Rajendra Sonawane in which he alleged that Sonawane had mentioned that the police headquarters were in danger. This, Munde said, has created panic among the people.
Replying to Munde, Patil said that this was a sensitive issue and should not be discussed, to which Munde objected and asked as to why the statements issued by Sonawane to the news channels and print media were held back from the legislature.
“I was the state’s deputy chief minister and home minister for five years and am fully aware as to which information should be disclosed and which should not. We are not asking you about the terrorists or their targets, but it is your own officers who are disclosing it on news channels,” Munde said.
In the Legislative Council, BJP leader Vinod Tawade raised the same issue, and was given the same reply by Patil, which he gave in the Assembly.
According to police sources, three e-mails are reported to have been received by the Pune police from Indian Mujahedeen (IM) threatening to blow up the headquarters.
Sonawane confirmed to the media of the threat perception. Asked about the threat e-mails, Sonawane said he was unaware of any such e-mails.
Meanwhile, in another development, the lone arrested accused in the Mumbai terror attacks Muhammad Ajmal Amir Qasab was moved out of the Mumbai crime branch lockup secretly at 4 a.m. yesterday and lodged in the high security Arthur Road Prison.
According to crime branch sources, Qasab was whisked to the prison amidst tight security to avoid risk to the life of Qasab.
