19 August,2011 07:03 AM IST | | Kaumudi Gurjar
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's visit to Maval was kept under wraps and even local Congress leaders did not know about it. Raghvendra Yadav, a Maval Congress leader, got a phone call from a Congress supporter from Sadavali informing him about Gandhi's visit. "We rushed to Sadavali before he left for Shivne. He met members of the families and offered them condolence," Yadav said.
Mahesh Benjamin, a Congress youth leader from Maval, said: "Gandhi had come in an Innova and a patrolling fleet joined him at Sadavali and followed from there." Dilip Dhamale, the Maval taluka Congress president, was the only one to receive prior intimation about the visit. He told MiD DAY that he received a call from Mohan Prakash about Gandhi's visit at 6 am.
The rural police were told about the visit around 8 am, with a message that Gandhi would be arriving in Baur in an hour. The police joined his fleet of two cars, an Innova that had Gandhi and his two PAs in it and a Tavera with five NSGs. The police said three private vehicles accompanied Gandhi and had plainclothes policemen in them. Sources claimed police vehicles had no red beacon and wireless sets were kept off to maintain secrecy.
