The Indian Express 06.08.2012
Blasts probe: 4 days on, cops still clueless
Rs 30 crore for CCTV cameras at key spots in city and PCMC areas: Ajit Pawar
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday announced that Rs 30
crore will be made available for immediate installation of closed
circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the Pune city and Pimpri-Chinchwad
area. Pawar made the announcement after his meeting with senior police
officials in the city.The CCTV cameras at two blast sites were found to be
non-functional, which was seen as a major loss to the investigation
process in the serial blasts that took place on the busy J M Road on
Wednesday.
“I was informed that there was a need of Rs 27 crore for
installation of CCTV cameras at major chowks and other strategic
locations in the city and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Also, an additional
expenditure of Rs 2-3 crore will have to be made for establishment of a
state-of-the-art control room for monitoring the footage from these
cameras. We have decided to work on this immediately,” said Pawar, who
is also the guardian minister of Pune district.
He said the installation will be completed within a month and the
expenditure would be shared by the state government, civic bodies of
the two cities and the elected representatives from the two cities.“Rs 10 crore will be provided by the state government, Pune
Municipal Corporation (PMC) will furnish Rs 7.5 crore, Pimpri-Chinchwad
Municpal Corporation (PCMC) will chip in another Rs 2.5 crore. The rest
will be provided by the MLAs and MPs who represent the areas,” said
Pawar.
Dy CM defends Patil, chides Pol
Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar on Sunday defended Home Minister R R Patil
who was at the receiving end after the blasts. NCP chief Sharad Pawar
had castigated Patil for “inept handling” of the law and order situation
in the state. “He (Sharad Pawar) is the supreme leader of the party and
has the habit of pointing out flaws in his juniors. He might have
critisised the home ministry but that doesn’t mean that the portfolio
should be taken away from the minister,” said Ajit Pawar.
Without taking his name, Ajit Pawar chided Pune Police
Commissioner Gulabrao Pol over his remarks that the blasts were an act
of mischief. “Senior police officials should not make such statements
without obtaining full information,” said Ajit Pawar.
Police trying to figure out group behind blasts
Over 100 hours after the four low intensity blasts rocked the
city, the teams of Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Pune police crime
branch are trying to ascertain which terrorist outfit or group was
behind the act.
Sources with Pune police and ATS said they had sought expert
opinion on the type of explosives and structure of Improvised Explosive
Device (IED) used at the spots and the report from the regional forensic
laboratory was awaited. “We have formed various teams that are
ascertaining who was behind the act. The teams have been asked to trace
similarities between the latest incident in Pune and those in other
cities in the past.”
Meanwhile, Dayanand Patil (33) of Uruli Kanchan, who was injured
as the plastic bag that he was carrying exploded, is still undergoing
treatment at Sassoon hospital. Ajay Chandanwale, dean of Sassoon General
Hospital refused to comment on his condition. On Friday, the police had
said that they recorded his version and he was consistent in his
statements.
Sources from Sassoon hospital, however, said Patil was not being released based on the instructions from Pune police.Asked whether his role was still being investigated, jointcommissioner of police Sanjivkumar Singhal said, “At this stage, it
would be improper to comment on this.”
