Munde fixes blame for Dalits’ suicide on the Nagpur police

Talking to newsmen here at his official residence Devgiri, Munde asserted that the prima facie evidences have established that it was a dereliction of duty on the part of the concerned police station.

He pointed out that police were aware that Sahare himself had threatened self-immolation on May 24 last if the police failed to nab the culprits. “Despite the alarm the police miserably failed in taking precautionary measures and Sahare carried out his threat on May 27 near thestatue and succumbed to burn injuries at the Medical College Hospital on May 31 last”, he further pointed out.

Munde has demanded a report from the police commissioner within the next couple of days. “As soon as I get the report, necessary action will be initiated against the concerned police officer”, he announced. According to him, there were as many as six incidents of desecration of Dr Ambedkar’s statue in the State since the Ramabai Nagar episode in Mumbai. Of them, the police have succeeded in nabbing the culprits in five cases. The lone case where the police failed to detect the offender was the Nagpur one. The Deputy Chief Minister, who arrived here in the morning from Mumbai, visited the house of the late Sahare and met his widow Shobha. Munde also handed over a cheque of Rs two lakh to Shobha, and offered her a Government job.

“I told her that the Government is ready to provide a job to any one in the Sahare family. It is now upto Shobha Sahare whether she wants the job for her son,daughter or herself”, he said.

Munde was accompanied by Guardian Minister Nitin Gadkari, local corporator Kishore Gajbhiye, police commissioner Prabir Chakraborty and other senior officials. Later answering news persons’ queries, he said Police Commissioner Chakraborty would not be transferred at the moment. He also dismissed newspaper reports that the transfer order of Chakraborty had already been issued. Munde was here to address a meeting of Vidarbha BJP workers at Deshpande Hall. The meeting was held as part of a series of conventions organised by the party in the wake of its dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls. “We are reviewing the situation and discussing how the organisation can be strengthened more to face the next assembly elections.”, he said.