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Guilty in Antilia bomb scare case will be punished, says Ajit Pawar
The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government also distanced itself from the controversial police officer Sachin Vaze, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) .
Under fire from the opposition BJP in the Antilia bomb scare case and the death of Mansukh Hiran, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said on Tuesday that the state government would not shield anyone involved in the case and the guilty would be punished.
The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government also distanced itself from the controversial police officer Sachin Vaze, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as Pawar insisted that that the state government took action against Vaze immediately after his name appeared in the case.
Pawar’s comments came after a meeting of senior ministers from all three coalition partners — Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress — held by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at his official residence, ‘Varsha’ in South Mumbai.
“Since the beginning the government took a stand that the investigation should be completed and the guilty will have to face the consequences. No one is going to be shielded and there is no reason to take any such step. I want to make it clear as the deputy chief minister,” Pawar told reporters.
“The law and order of Maharashtra has to be the best. Whoever is found guilty will have to face action, irrespective of the party he belongs to. If there is a mistake then action will be initiated… The chief minister and all of us are of the same opinion… No interference was made in the ongoing investigation,” he added.
The change in the MVA stand is being seen as an attempt to control the damage done over the past week in the case that has dented the government’s image.
“The MVA government took action in the case without any delay and Vaze was removed as soon as his name appeared in the case. The case was also transferred to the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) immediately. NIA came in picture because of explosives found in the car… Now both the investigation agencies — NIA and ATS — are probing the case at their own level,” the deputy chief minister said.
Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze was suspended by Mumbai police on Monday following his arrest by the NIA in connection with the recovery of explosives from an SUV parked near billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s residence last month.
His brother Sudharm Vazehas filed a habeas corpus petition in the Bombay high court against the arrest, claiming that Vaze was being made a “scapegoat” by “certain political powers”.
