Man who made threat call to Chief Minister Shinde arrested

The Ghatkopar resident was drunk and wanted to teach a lesson to the hotel owner for overcharging him for a bottle of water

Maharashtra police arrested a man in connection with a threat to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s life, said Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Nagpur on October 3.

Mr. Fadnavis, who also heads the Home Department, said that they have taken input on the threat to the life of CM Shinde seriously. “CM’s security is very important and we are paying full attention to it, apart from other aspects,” he said. However, Mr. Fadnavis did not share specific details of the arrested person.

Pune police had registered a case under Section 177 of the Indian Penal Code and launched a probe following a threat call received by the control room from a man who claimed that a plan was being hatched to kill Chief Minister Shinde.

Later, they arrested the accused, Avinash Waghmare (36), a resident of Mumbai’s Ghatkopar, and found that he was drunk when he made the hoax call to the control room from Lonavala. He allegedly wanted to teach a lesson to the hotel owner for overcharging him for a bottle of water.

Following the threat call, additional security has been provided to Mr. Shinde, who already enjoys a ‘Z Plus’ category security cover. The security was also beefed up at ‘Varsha’, the official residence of Chief Minister and Mr. Shinde’s private residence in Thane, based on specific inputs from the State Intelligence Department.

Responding to the alleged threat call, Mr. Shinde on Oct. 2 said that he does not pay attention to reports of a threat to his life. “As far as such issues are concerned, I trust the home department and its head and Deputy CM Fadnavis,” he said, adding that such threats calls cannot scare him and he would continue to serve the people of Maharashtra.

In October last, when he was Urban Development Minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Government, Mr. Shinde, who was also guardian Minister of Naxal-affected Gadchiroli district, received a threat letter, which is suspected to have been sent by Maoists.