Thaindian News

Mumbai, March 17 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan Wednesday said he would examine the issue of state Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief K.P. Raghuvanshi divulging key information to the media about terror suspects and take necessary action as demanded by the central govenment.
“I will study the entire issue and then ask the (state) home minister to take necessary steps in the matter,” Chavan told reporters here.

The chief minister said he was aware of the central government being unhappy with Raghuvanshi’s briefing to the media about the terror suspects nabbed in Mumbai Sunday and their links in Pakistan.

According to him, sensitive aspects pertaining to the investigations should not have been made public as it could be “damaging” to the probe.

The central government took strong exception to Raghuvanshi divulging key information about the terror suspects and asked Maharashtra to initiate action against him.

The government is not happy with Raghuvanshi’s loose talk and the way he is functioning, a top home ministry official said in New Delhi Tuesday on condition of anonymity.

When contacted by IANS, Raghuvanshi was not available for comment.

Raghuvanshi addressed reporters in Mumbai Sunday when the ATS arrested two terror suspects and foiled a major plot to blow up state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) terminals, a mall and a market complex in the Maharashtra capital.

He told mediapersons that preliminary investigations revealed that the arrested duo - Abdul Latif Sheikh, 29, and Riyaz Ali, 23 - were trained in Pakistan and were in touch with terror outfits in that country.

The ATS chief also revealed that the two were talking to somebody in Pakistan whom they referred to as “uncle”, apparently their handler in Pakistan. Raghuvanshi said the ATS had been tracking the duo for the past 10 days.