Maharashtra: ‘Easy to accuse others, don’t run when allegations against you,’says Dilip Walse-Patil

Last week, Mumbai Police registered an FIR against Somaiya and his son for allegedly misappropriating funds that were collected to revive war ship INS Vikrant. While their anticipatory bail application was rejected by the sessions court, the father-son duo has approached the Bombay High Court.

“We will be asking the central government the whereabouts of those who enjoy Z+ security.” Referring to Somaiya who has, in the past, made frequent complaints against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders, Patil said, “It is easy for people to make allegations against others. Then it is not right to go missing when there is an allegation against you.”
When asked about the two instances of communal violence in Mumbai, Patil said, “Ever since the movie, The Kashmir Files, has released, there have been attempts to create distance between the two communities. Even in the Mankhurd and Malwani case, investigations are on to find the real culprits.”

When asked about a letter to Joint Commissioner of Police (law & order), Vishwas Nangre Patil, on April 4 about an impending morcha at Silver Oak — residence of NCP chief Sharad Pawar — by MSRTC employees, Patil said, “Inspite of intelligence from the special branch a few days ago, there was a lapse as not enough bandobast was present at the spot. Based on the enquiry so far, a senior inspector was suspended and the DCP transferred.”

Patil further said it was not right to call the incident a protest and that it was an attack that took place at Pawar’s residence. When asked about the Nagpur connection to the case after the Mumbai Police argued in the court on Monday that arrested lawyer Gunratan Sadavarte had made a WhatsApp call to someone in Nagpur on the day of the anti-Pawar protest, Patil said, “Police are investigating the Nagpur angle.”