Fear,anger Reign Kasarwadi

Expressing his shock over the information that terrorists were trying to set up base in Kasarwadi,corporator Kiran Mote said,“This piece of information coming from the Delhi Police should come as a wake-up call for the police in Pimpri-Chinchwad. The police need to visit each house to find out whether any suspects were still staying in Kasarwadi.” Mote said police should carry out combing operations in all parts of the suburb. “The Bhosari police station should also get adequate manpower to deal with the situation,” he said.

Shrikant Jadhav,a computer engineer,said,“Both Kasarwadi police chowky and Bhosari police station are located away from Kasarwadi. There is no fear of police in the suburb as the presence of police is hardly noticeable. The chowky at least should be at the centre of the suburb. If there is no fear or presence of police,terrorists are bound to set up base in the suburb. It was unnerving to hear that IM suspects have found Kasarwadi an ideal place to carry out their activities,” he said.

Kishore Shirke,another resident,said in PCMC school area,groups of youngsters are found harassing school going girls. “If even one policeman lands up here in the afternoon,these youths will disappear. But they don’t… it seems there is no police fear in Kasarwadi,making it an unsafe place to live in.”

Echoing his views,activist Jayant Kariya said,“Everywhere till late evening,groups of youths between the age group of 15-21 are found loitering and creating nuisance. If police officers start patrolling around the suburb,many untoward happenings will stop. The Kasarwadi police chowky should be shifted in the centre of Kasarwadi,” he said.

Lahoo Landge,a local politician said,“Several vehicles pass through Kasarwadi railway gate towards Gurav Pimple and Sangvi and many of them do so to avoid paying octroi. There is no check on these vehicles as there is no police presence in Gurav Pimple-Kasarwadi area. The possibility of IM suspects taking this route to transport explosives has not been ruled out by the investigators. So Bhosari police should set up a check point here. Vehicles should go via Shankarwadi where there should be another check point,” he said.

Avinash Prasad,another resident,said,“If vehicles are passing through Kasarwadi without being checked,this means they are posing a threat to the entire city. It might be possible that explosives or ammunition are transported without anybody stopping the vehicles,” he said.

Flat owners rush to police with details of tenants

After the Delhi Police revelation that Indian Mujahideen operatives Feroze Sayyed and two others had stayed in a rented flat in Kasarwadi,landlords in the area are rushing to the Bhosari police station to provide identity proof and other details of their tenants.

Yusuf Shaikh of Kasarwadi had rented his one BHK flat to Feroze without checking his identity proof and necessary details as stipulated by the police for which he was pulled up by the police. Real estate agent Gopi Parekh also found himself in trouble as he too did not verify the antecedents of Feroze before taking him to Shaikh for renting out his flat. After questioning them for two-three days,Bhosari police arrested the two for not signing agreement with the tenants,not informing the police or checking their identity proof. They are out on bail,police said.

After the incident,landlords and residential societies are now collecting crucial papers from their tenants. Munir Ramdurg of Kasarwadi said he has asked office-bearers of his residential society to issue notices to all flat owners to inform the police about any tenant living in their rented flats. “The flat owners are being told that they would be solely responsible if anything goes wrong. It is the duty of flat owners to react without wasting anytime,” he said.

Sanjay Shah,chairman of Goyal Residency,said the police had come to the society and told them to provide information about flats given on rent. “Accordingly,we have informed our society members to ensure that they provide information about any tenants living in their rented flats to the police,” he said.

The incident also seemed to have shaken the police department. Baba Landge,who owns some flats near Hanumant Temple in Kasarwadi,rushed to Bhosari police station on Saturday morning only to return with anger writ large on their faces. “Earlier,the police were not asking for agreement papers of the flat. Now,they want the agreement papers as well. When I had come before Ganesh Festival,I was told to come after the festival. But now they want details as soon as possible. The presence of IM suspects has clearly put the police in action,” he said.

Rajendra Shelkhe,a local politician,said the police should act tough as the Delhi police has said terrorists were trying to set up base in Kasarwadi. “It is the duty of the police to carry out thorough check in the area. This has become crucial from the safety point of view,” he said. When contacted,Bhosari police inspector Sudhir Aspat said,“Our drive in finding details regarding the tenants has been going on…” He refused to reveal further.