Pocket bulging with Rs 2 lakh cash, BJP activist loses it in a flash

Swearing-in ceremonies seem to be on everyone's agenda. In another case of security lapse, happening soon after the gatecrashing incident during Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's swearing-in on October 31, a BJP activist from Pune was robbed of Rs 2 lakh, while two others lost Rs 5,000 each from the Vidhan Bhavan premises in Marine Drive on Friday.

The questions are how did someone enter unchecked by the police with such a huge amount, and how did the person who committed the offence flee.

According to the activist from Pune, Govind Patil, who is also the complainant, he had come to Vidhan Bhavan to attend the swearing-in ceremony. "Inside the premises, someone cut my pocket and took out the Rs 2 lakh, which were in Rs 1,000 denomination. Within minutes two other people, including my friend, lost their money in a similar fashion. While the man who had stolen my money fled the spot, public caught his accomplice after the theft came to light and handed him over to the police," said Patil. Patil said he runs Nitin Fabricators in Chakan.

Asked why he had visited Vidhan Bhavan with such a huge amount of money, Patil said, "The money was from my business collection. My friends and I hurried from Pune to Mumbai for the ceremony, I didn't have time to go home to keep it. Because they were with me, I thought the money would stay safe. We had planned to return immediately after the swearing-in."

"An offence has been registered into the matter by the Marine Drive police, we are investigating the case," said deputy commissioner of police, Zone I, Ravindra Shishve.