Maharashtra home minister RR Patil said he would inquire if KP Raghuvanshi "really indicated to the media about the involvement of Hindu organisations in the Pune blast".
Union home minister P Chidambaram might want the state government to pull up the person responsible for giving out sensitive information to television channels, but state home minister RR Patil finds nothing wrong with his men talking to the media.
Immediately after two men were arrested in Mumbai on March 13, several channels started reporting, quoting KP Raghuvanshi, anti-terrorism squad (ATS) chief, that they were plotting to blow up ONGC oil tanks, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, and other vital installations.
Some channels flashed reports that the two were in touch with a person called Chacha in Pakistan. This bit worried the Centre, because if the ‘revelations’ about links with Karachi were proved wrong, it could become a major embarrassment for New Delhi.
Patil, however, felt Raghuvanshi had done the right thing. “Had the ATS not revealed the names of those two men, the court would not have remanded them in police custody,” Patil said on Monday. “Once an FIR is filed, their names would have come out because an FIR is a public document.” Patil was speaking in the legislative council.
He told the house that he had asked police officers to reveal
information that the public must know. “I have asked them not to make statements for the sake of publicity.”
But the opposition was not satisfied. The Shiv Sena’s Diwakar Raote asked what action would be taken against Raghuvanshi for announcing that investigations were on to find out if Hindu outfits were involved in the German Bakery blast in Pune.
“Initially Raghuvanshi said the two arrested men were trained in Pakistan,” Raote said. “He later said the role of Hindu outfits, too, would be investigated.”
Patil tried to play this down saying terrorists don’t have any religion. He referred to the blasts in Malegaon, Thane, Nanded, and Goa. “The police have to investigate all angles,” he said. “It’s not right to keep out people of any particular religion from investigations.”
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