MUMBAI: Notwithstanding chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s assertion about Mumbai being a “safe” city, questions are being raised over the law and order situation, particularly in view of back-to-back incidents of violence and murder in the Bandra area, which is home to prominent members of the entertainment industry. After the firing at the residence of Salman Khan and now the attack at Saif Ali Khan’s home, it appears Mumbai police is likely to come under scrutiny regarding issues such as patrolling.
Recent incidents are being seen as an emerging trend.
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First it was the Lawrence Bishnoi gang’s threats to Salman Khan. Then there were calls made to actor Shah Rukh Khan. The most shocking of these incidents was the murder of former minister and developer Baba Siddique, who was a close associate of Salman Khan. And now comes news of the attack at actor Saif Ali Khan’s house.
After the Siddique episode, bullet-proof glass was put up all around Salman Khan’s house. However, questions remain regarding the lack of intel in the Baba Siddique case. There are allegations that there were specific inputs regarding a threat to his life and that these were not taken into consideration.
After the Khan and Siddique episodes, there were also expectations of a revamp in Mumbai police, but no such reshuffle took place. So far as the Siddique case is concerned, his son has expressed displeasure over the chargesheet filed before the court, saying it fails to look at the real motives behind the crime.
Reacting to the situation, former Mumbai police commissioner M N Singh said gangsters and anti-social elements need to be dealt with with an iron hand. He said police must act in a professional manner and restore the public’s confidence. Singh recalled that when he was Mumbai police commissioner more than two decades ago, the action taken was ruthless.
The former DG said the home department led by Devendra Fadnavis has created several posts for senior IPS officers and that now Mumbai police has two commissioners, but there is still neither impact nor visibility. “It’s not a happy situation. People not only in Bandra, but across the city are living in fear as anti-social elements are not scared of law enforcing agencies,” he said.
Another former bureaucrat said, be it a police inspector or an IPS officer, once posted in Mumbai, they all manage to stay on in their posts for life. “Whether Eknath Shinde is the CM or Fadnavis, they manage to stay in Mumbai. Fadnavis will have to break the chain, revamp the entire Mumbai force and bring in such IPS officers whose presence will send shock waves among gangsters,’ he said.