A 39-year-old man, who breached the VVIP security protocol by posing himself as a public servant and shared a dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the swearing-in ceremony of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his Cabinet on October 31, has been arrested by the Marine Drive police.
Identifying the arrested man as one Anil Mishra, the police said that Mishra, who claims to be a BJP activist who not only sneaked his way into the VIP enclosure of Wankhede stadium without a pass, but he also gained unauthorised entry onto the stage where Fadnavis and his Cabinet colleagues took oath of office.
Mishra, who has been booked under IPC sections 170 (personating a public servant) and 447 (punishment for criminal trespass) was produced before a city court which remanded him in police custody till November 11.
The remand application states that Mishra gained entry to the stage by posing himself as a personal secretary to a VVIP.“The arrested man gained entry into the stadium by making false claim that he was a Government servant. After coming inside, he breached the security protocol and climbed onto the dais,” Deputy Police Commissioner Dhananjay Kulkarni said.
Mishra’s arrest came after a senior BJP activist, Sanjay Bedia, brought the matter to the chief minister’s attention and also lodged a complaint with the Marine Drive police.Bedia and those attending the October 31 ceremony said that Mishra was seen near the VVIPs, including Prime Minister Modi, who enjoys the tightest security cover in the country, and Fadnavis, who also enjoys multi-layered security.
Mishra was spotted in photographs taken with dignitaries like Rajnath Singh, Fadnavis, Amit Shah and Uddhav Thackeray.Meanwhile, Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse said that the state government had serious cognizance of the security breach and that action would be taken against all those who were responsible for the lapse.
Talking to media persons, Khadse said: “There is a need to check out on the antecedents of this man (Mishra). Where did he come from and who he isIJ Some unknown person comes so close to the Prime Minister... This is not good. I will talk to the Chief Minister about this and appropriate action will be taken against all those responsible for the lapse”.