Securing Kasab: ITBP’s Rs 10-cr bill stuns state

Home Minister R R Patil said keeping Kasab secure was in the interest of the nation and not just a cause of concern for just the state. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said he will discuss the issue with Patil and then take a decision. “I will talk to the Home Minister on this issue and don’t want to speak about it further,” he told reporters.

Medha Gadgil,Principal Home Secretary,said the state government will write to the ITBP,explaining its position that it was not just the state government’s burden. “We are in the process of writing to them. We will explain that the 26/11 terror attacks is not only an issue limited to Maharashtra but a national issue,” she said.

“What Kasab and his associates did is an attack not only on Mumbai but an attack on India and it is unfair to ask the state government to bear the burden (for ITBP guarding Kasab),” another senior Home Department official said.

“It is not surprising that a bill has been sent as whenever such deployments are made,they are charged for. The same applies for any of the SRPF sent to other parts of the state. We also charge for the services,” said an official.

The ITBP was deployed in the jail where a special court conducted the trial of Kasab,the lone Pakistani gunman who was arrested on the night of 26/11. Last year,the Home Department sought an extension for the deployment of the ITBP,which comprised around 200 commandos,armed with sophisticated weaponry and communication equipment,guarding Kasab 24×7.