R.R. Patil’s absence at jawans’ funeral draws flak

The Maharashtra Home Minister says he was advised against visiting Gadchiroli by senior police officers "due to security reasons".

Maharashtra Home Minister R.R.Patil on Monday came under attack from police and political circles when he did not attend the funeral ceremonies of the police Jawans killed in Maoist attack on Sunday.

The >bodies of seven policemen killed in Sunday’s attack, were kept at police ground adjacent to Gadchiroli police headquarters on Monday.

“Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) Sanjeev Dayal and all the senior police officers paid their last tributes to the martyrs on Monday morning”, said a press statement by Gadchiroli District Information Office.

But Mr.R.R. Patil who is also the Guardian Minister of Gadchiroli was conspicuous by his absence.

Police officers posted in Gadchiroli expressed “anguish” over the absence of the Home Minister.

“Our Jawans are losing their lives here and these politicians can’t even show basic courtesy” said an officer refusing to be identified.

Another officer expressed “shock” over the “apathy” shown by the Home Minister.

Mr.Patil could not be reached for his reaction but speaking to a Marathi news channel later on in the day, he claimed that he was advised against visiting Gadchiroli by senior police officers “due to security reasons”.

“Some senior officers asked me to delay my visit because of security reasons. Many of our police parties are inside forest and our first concern is to bring them back safely” Mr.Patil told the news channel.

However, police officers said that the function to pay last tributes to the martyrs was held in police ground where more than thousand policemen were present.

“If the DGP can come and attend the ceremony then what stopped the home minister from coming to Gadchiroli?” asked a furious officer.

“This is sheer insensitivity on the part of the home minister and the government. By failing even to pay last tributes to martyrs, the home minister has disrespected the martyrs and their families” said Mr.Devendra Fadnavis, BJP Maharashtra state president adding that the reasons given by Mr.Patil were “unconvincing”.

 This was not the first time when Mr.Patil drew flack for his comments.

After the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack, Mr.Patil had to resign from the post of Home Minster for his comments of “small things happen in big cities like Mumbai”.