No differences with Bagwe: Satyapal Singh

“Zala Gela Gangela Milale (Whatever has happened has happened,it is past),” Singh said in reply to queries. He blamed the media for running a campaign against him. “I don’t know who was behind this… The law and order situation in Pune is good. I recently submitted an affidavit in the Bombay High Court with figures comparing the crime rates in all cities and the court was convinced that the crime rate has dropped in Pune.”

On Borwankar,the first woman to hold the post,Singh said,“Women outfits were unhappy with me. They should be very happy now. I am sure she will do a better job than me.”

Singh avoided comment on the scarf controversy,saying,“The lady (Meeran) can handle it better.” He had tried to bring in a ban on use of scarves by women to cover their faces while driving.

He said the German Bakery blast was an unfortunate incident. “Terrorism remains the biggest challenge for Pune police,” he said,but refused to speak on the investigation,saying he had not received any updates from the anti-terrorism squad.

Singh said solving the traffic problems in city was a success. “Pune set an example for the country by using modern technology such as BlackBerry phones for dealing with traffic problems… The modernisation of Foreigners’ Registration Office,setting up an advanced cyber forensic lab and obtaining extra manpower of 1,600 cops and 300 new vehicles for the department are the major things that happened in my time. I have also proposed 10 new police stations. The Mundhwa police station has already started and work for Koregaon Park is in process.”

Priority for tackling terrorism,crime against women: Borwankar

Meeran Borwankar,who took over as the first woman police commissioner of Pune on Thursday,said it was crucial that crimes against women were registered with the police to effectively tackle them. “I will study the crimes against women in Pune. But such crimes should first be registered with the police,only then can we tackle them. I am not bothered about the crime rate going up or down. Pune police have very efficient officers to deal with crimes,” she said. Borwankar said action against terrorism would be her top priority. “I will hold a meeting with my officers to understand the crime situation in the city and come up with a plan.”

On being the first woman chief of Pune police,Borwankar said she was “not surprised” as she had bagged the post “on merit”.