Maharashtra asks for discount on Kasab security bill

After getting a staggering bill of nearly Rs 11 crore from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police for guarding 26/11 terror convict Ajmal Kasab, Maharashtra government says the ITBP security is a costly affair.

After getting a staggering bill of nearly Rs 11 crore from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) for guarding 26/11 terror convict Ajmal Kasab, Maharashtra government says the ITBP security is a costly affair.

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"I have ordered DG police to replace ITBP security with Maharashtra police personnel. ITBP security is costly," Home Minister R R Patil told reporters in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Demanding a concession in the bill, Patil said, "The attack on Mumbai is an attack on the nation. We demand concession in the bill amount."

The ITBP force slapped a bill of Rs 10.87 crore on Maharashtra Government for guarding Kasab at the Arthur Road jail and sought its reimbursement which has stunned the state.

R K Bhatia, Director General of ITBP, whose 200 commandos provide 24-hour security to Kasab, had raised the bill for reimbursement of expenses incurred between March 28, 2009 and September 30, 2010.

The ITPB was deployed in the jail where a Special Court held conducted trial of Kasab, the lone Pakistani gunman who was arrested on the night of 26/11.