MUMBAI, FEB 7: The leader of the opposition in the state legislative council, Nitin Gadkari, demanded a judicial probe into the riots in Nashik city and the transfer of the police commissioner Ambala Verma. Gadkari, who alongwith the state BJP president Pandurang Phundkar visited the riot affected areas of the city, blamed the civic authorities and police for the riots and arson. Gadkari said that the squabbles between the Congress and the NCP had demoralised the police force, which faced a catch 22 situation in controlling the situation. He said that the Democratic Front government in the state had failed at all fronts, including the maintenance of law and order. He pointed out that while there were four incidents of riots during the Shiv Sena-BJP regime of four-and-a-half years, there had been 15 riots during the 18 months rule of the present government. He demanded that all shrines in the riot-hit areas be checked as there was a suspicion among the local people that weapons had been stored in them. Heclaimed that criminals from other states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar had made Maharashtra their centre of activities. He also blamed the Nashik Municipal Corportion for allowing illegal structures to come up in the city. He asked whether the Corporation was sleeping while the three-storeyed structure permitted for residential purposes took shape of a madarasa and later a mosque.Phundkar said that the riots and arson were preplanned and that the flareup proved the inefficiency of the state government.
