Inquiry committee led by DCP Vishwas Nagre to probe the MSRTC-Pawar agitation row

Taking serious note of the possible security breach, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday called an emergency meeting between Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil, CP Sanjay Pandey, and Mumbai DCP, Law and Order Vishwas Nangre-Patil. The meeting reportedly involved a thorough discussion on the ongoing issues, followed by the decision of committee formation.

Mumbai: A committee headed by Mumbai Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishwas Nangre-Patil has been set up to probe the matter following the agitation by MSRTC workers at the residence of NCP leader Sharad Pawar on Friday. The committee will reportedly investigate the matter and submit a report to the Home Minister. Meanwhile, some sources have claimed that the intelligence personnel had already warned about the agitation about three months ago when the MSRTC issue was just at the brim.

While it is being widely speculated that the attack on Sharad Pawar's house was pre-planned and the journalists were pre-informed about the matter, the intelligence service has not confirmed any such thing officially yet. The speculations have also posed questions about why the NCP leader wasn't given adequate security if the agitation was foreseen.

Taking serious note of the possible security breach, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday called an emergency meeting between Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil, Commissioner of Police Sanjay Pandey, and the Mumbai Deputy Commissioner of Police Law and Order Vishwas Nangre-Patil. The meeting reportedly involved a thorough discussion on all these issues, followed by the decision to form a committee for the said probe.

The state government had also earlier beefed up the security arrangements for Sharad Pawar, daughter Supriya Sule, and the entire Pawar family. Supriya Sule's security responsibility was given to the Mumbai Police PSU, while a Mumbai Police vehicle and two officers were also deployed for her protection. General security around Sharad Pawar's residence at Silver Oak in Mumbai and Govindbagh in Baramati has also been beefed up.

On the afternoon of April 8, the MSRTC workers staged a protest outside Sharad Pawar's residence in Mumbai, which soon escalated into an aggressive episode with stones and slippers thrown at Pawar's house. Mumbai Police had arrested lawyer Gunaratna Sadavarte and 109 other MSRTC employees in connection with the case. While the lawyer has been remanded in police custody for two days, the remaining 109 employees were remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.