CCTVs not working,PMC did not pay contractor

“PMC,as part of the ITS had installed 70 cameras to monitor traffic. The contractor appointed for connectivity discontinued it from March citing non-payment,” said a civic official. The PMC control room in Swargate is also closed with most cameras non-functional,he said.

The ambitious project was mooted by the civic administration to resolve the traffic problem. Apart from monitoring traffic,the administration had proposed that those violating traffic rules can be booked and penalised with the help of the system. Even after the cameras were installed,implementation of the ITS was delayed due to differences between the police and the PMC over its implementation.

PMC’s plans to penalise citizens found violating traffic through the ITS had also run into opposition from elected representatives of the civic body.

Ironically,the civic administration had claimed in the past that the ITS cameras were found useful by the city police in solving crimes.

Act of mischief to create panic: Top cop

Pune police commissioner Gulabrao Pol said,“The first reports of the blast came from a spot few meters away from Balgandharva Rangamandir. A person identified as Dayanand Patil,who is from Uruli Kanchan,was carrying a plastic carry bag,and it exploded. He has suffered external injuries on the stomach and is now being interrogated and treated. This was a very low intensity blast. Reports of the blasts from three more spots,all on Janglee Maharaj (JM) Road came in subsequently. These,too,were low intensity.”

“Prima facie,there is no terror angle to the incident. This is an act of mischief,done to create panic in the minds of the people. We recovered pencil cells that were used in the detonators. A sticky substance,apparently kept in a cake box,has also been recovered from spot near Balgandharva. At this spot,two devices exploded while one was defused by us. The recovered substances have been sent for forensic tests. Bicycles were used in two of the four explosions – those in front of Dena Bank and the one on Garware Bridge,” Pol said.

“Our teams are checking the CCTV footage from various spots on J M Road. Another team is interrogating the injured person. We will not be able to comment on the specific motives and who is behind the act. At this stage,we also cannot conclude that he was involved in this act. We have come to know that he had picked up the plastic bag. We are yet to find out why he did so. People should not panic or pay heed to rumours.”

Shinde’s programme cancelled in morning: Protocol officials

Immediately after the blasts rocked the city,rumour was rife that they were supposed to coincide with the newly appointed Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s visit here. However,district protocol officers ruled out the possibility,saying that his visit was cancelled in the morning.

“We had received information that the programme was cancelled this morning. We informed the police officers immediately,’’ said Pramod Kashikar,assistant protocol officer who was handling the VIP movement for Shinde in the city. Shinde was to attend a programme at Tilak Smarak Mandir,about three km from Balgandharva Rangamandir where the first blast took place. The programme was organised to celebrate the birthday of legislator Vinayak Nimhan. The police cordoned off the area soon after the blast at Balgandharva and traffic was diverted through F C Road and Bajirao Road.