Could not contact police chief for 15 minutes: Chavan

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said today that he could not reach top police officers for almost 15 minutes after the triple bombings in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said Friday that he could not reach top police officers for almost 15 minutes after the triple bombings in Mumbai on Wednesday.

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Mobile communication collapsed within minutes of the terror strikes Wednesday evening, the chief minister said.

"I could not contact chief of police, DGP for 15 minutes. That is very serious," Chavan told NDTV in an interview.

He said lacunae needed to be plugged and the government was thinking of having satellite phones or dedicated mobile network.

Chavan also disclosed that 12 task groups have been formed to probe the terror attack that killed 17 people and injured 131.

The chief minister said the possibility of the involvement of the underworld and Left-wing extremists were also being looked at.

Hinting at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said: "I was very upset that one of the political parties tried to politicise the issue. They have a right to criticse but there is a time and a place."