Munde accepts responsibilty for shoot-at-sight policy

Munde was speaking after releasing the Marathi translation of Mario Puzo’s Sicilian by Ravindra Gurjar.

The function was held at Patrakar Bhavan here. Marathi literary critic Shankar Sarda was in the chair.

“Feroze Konkani made good his escape but the police cannot even question his father in the matter,” Munde rued. He also sought to know if the Human Rights Commission, ever so vigilant about human rights violations by the police, had bothered to visit the families of trader union leader Datta Samant, politicians Premkumar Sharma, Ramdas Naik and Vitthal Chavan, who all fell to the bullets of the underworld.

The deputy chief minister, who also holds the home portfolio, expressed concern over the growing tendency in the society to philosophise on crime. “The society’s failure to adopt a firm stand against crime was proving to be the criminal’s strength,” he said.

Munde reiterated that he had ordered the Mumbai police to “shoot at sight” the underworld criminals leading to elimination of about 180 including dreaded dons like Amar Naik and Sada Pawle during past three years.

“I am ready to face any court for it,” the deputy chief minister asserted.