Raj threat: City cops in Bihar to grill suspects

CONCERNED: MNS chief Raj Thackeray

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: A city crime branch team is camping in Bihar to investigate the letter, which was sent to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray last week, with the threat of assasinating him.

A senior crime branch officer said they were carrying out parallel investigations in the city and in Bihar. “No arrests have been made yet. Our team is questioning the suspects in Bihar,’’ said the officer. The threat this time was sent in the form of a letter allegedly from Sarvodaya Samaj in Bihar. It was written and signed by Ashok Kumar Singh, who claims to be the founder president of the Samaj.

The letter was sent to Raj’s Dadar residence. Following the death threat, Raj’s security was reviewed and he was provided with ‘Y’ category security cover. The city crime branch said they were making inquiries if the letter was indeed sent by the Sarvodaya Samaj people or someone was playing a prank. “We are not ruling out the possibility of a mischief. However, we can not say much until we complete our investigation,’’ said an officer.

The letter stated, “Five revolutionaries of the Sarvodaya Samaj have taken a decision in the name of our motherland that one among us will kill you in the same way you and your men have persecuted the Hindi speaking population in Mumbai. A few days ago, MLA Abu Azmi was roughed up in the Assembly because he wanted to take oath in Hindi. We can tolerate everything but not insult to Hindi. Hence, you will be killed before December 25, 2009.’’

The Times of India, December 21, 2009