Opposition slammed the state government for the delay in the procurement of arms and ammunition.
The central government will hand over 2,000 bulletproof jackets and 10,000 new SLR rifles to the Maharashtra police, state home minister RR Patil announced in the monsoon session of the legislative assembly on Wednesday.
The state government had come under fire after the July 13 serial blasts for allegedly not implementing the security measures suggested by the Pradhan Committee, which had been set up after the November 26, 2008, terror attacks.
On Tuesday, the Opposition had slammed the state government, especially the home department, for the delay in the procurement of arms and ammunition.
Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Devendra Fadanvis had alleged that the home department has procured only 500 bulletproof jackets against the requirement of 2,000. He pointed out that the department was divided over the specification of the bulletproof jackets as it had invited bids demanding European jackets with specifications of the US standard. This dispute over the specifications led to the cancellation of the bids.
Replying to the allegations, Patil had said that it was not justified to claim that police officers have died due to inferior quality bulletproof jackets. "No jacket can save a life if the bullet was shot from short distance. Moreover, the bulletproof jackets purchased by the Mumbai police 10 years ago, were sanctioned by a committee comprising policemen Hemant Karkare and Ashok Kamate, who died in the 26/11 terror attacks," Patil said.
On Wednesday, Patil corrected in his statement and said the committee did not have Karkare on the board. He added that as the state government had failed to find a bidder matching the specifications they had requested, the union home ministry purchased the jackets for them.
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