Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil on Thursday demanded legal action against senior journalist and Baba Ramdev’s close-aide Ved Prakadh Vaidik over his meeting with Hafiz Saeed, an alleged mastermind of 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai.
Mr. Patil hinted that Mumbai police, which is probing the case where Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Saeed is a main accused, may interrogate Mr. Vaidik following his meeting with the alleged terrorist.
“The investigating officers will take a call on this issue soon,” he said, while speaking with journalists in Thane.
“The whole episode is shocking. How can a common man go and meet a terrorist like Saeed? How can he bypass the official channel?” asked Mr. Patil. He said strong action should be taken against Mr. Vaidik.
Mr. Patil clarified that the State government has conveyed its strong objection to the Centre about the meeting.
Commenting on the disappearance of four young men from the State who have allegedly joined ISIS militants in a war in Iraq, Mr. Patil said police are in contact with the Central agencies.
“Yes, it’s true that four youths — Arif Fayyaz Majeed, Aman Naik Tandel, Shaheed Farooqui Tanki and Fahad Tanvir Sheikh — are missing and separate complaints have been filed by their parents. The police are investigating the case,” he said.
He denied reports that more than 20 young men from Thane have joined ISIS.
