Security beefed up at Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray’s home Matoshree at Bandra after ‘threat’ calls

Security has been beefed up at Matoshree, the private residence of Maharashtra chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray in Bandra, after an unknown person from Dubai called twice on Saturday night, claiming that the fugitive underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim wanted to speak with the CM.

State transport minister and Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab said the caller dialled the landline of Matoshree and asked to speak to the CM. The minister, however, denied that the caller threatened to blow up the Sena chief’s home in Bandra (East). He added that they have alerted the police and the issue is being investigated.

According to a statement from the CM’s office (CMO), state home minister Anil Deshmukh informed the state cabinet on Sunday that the Mumbai Police’s crime branch is investigating the matter.

Speaking to reporters before the cabinet meeting, Parab said, “There was an anonymous caller to Matoshree who said that he is from the Dawood gang and that he wanted to speak to the chief minister. There was no threat to blow up Matoshree. We reported the call to the police and they are investigating all aspects, including who called, why, if the person was really from the Dawood gang, etc. So far, nobody has dared to give such threats and the government will not let the person go scot-free,” Parab said.

There were unconfirmed reports that four calls were made to Matoshree. A senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Mumbai Police confirmed the same. “The operator at the CM’s residence picked up the call around 10pm, and the caller said that he was calling from Dubai and Dawood Ibrahim wanted to speak with ‘CM saheb’,” said the officer.

The operator refused to transfer the call following which the caller disconnected. The same person then called up again a few minutes later and repeated the same words, but again, the operator informed him that the call could not be transferred to the CM, added the officer.

Call records reportedly show that two missed calls were made from the same number within a span of a few minutes. “It appears that they could be threat calls and given the seriousness of the issue, security has been increased at Matoshree. Mumbai Police has not registered any complaint but the Mumbai crime branch has been trying to trace the number,” added the IPS officer.

The state cabinet expressed concern over the anonymous call threatening to blow up Thackeray’s residence, and also condemned it strongly. Terming it as a “very serious matter”, the cabinet said that the Union government should take immediate note of it and find the people behind it. Strict punishment should be given to them, said a statement from the CMO.

“The police department has taken appropriate action [about security] after these calls. A review of the CM’s security is taken from time to time. The CM has had adequate security before and will continue to have it,” Parab said.