Nothing 'mischievous' about Pune blasts: Shinde

After taking over as Union Home Minister, Sushilkumar Shinde visited Pune for the first time yesterday to look into the serial bomb blasts.

He disagreed with the views of Police commissioner Gulabrao Pol. "The serial blasts in the city do not appear to be someone's idea of ‘mischief'. We have taken the investigation very seriously."

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde (centre) with State Home Minister RR Patil (extreme right) at the Pune Police Commissioner's Office yesterday. pic/vivek sabnis

Pol, who rushed to the spot on Wednesday after the serial blasts on JM Road, ruled out the possibility of a terror attack, said it seems the doing of a mischief maker."

In the presence of Pol, Maharashtra's Home Minister RR Patil, Home Secretary RK Singh, and the city Mayor Vaishali Bankar, Shinde avoided commenting on whether the blasts were a terrorist attempt. "At this moment, it would be premature to make any comment on the present investigations," he said.

No visit to the blast spots
Instead of paying a visit to blasts site, Shinde preferred to go to Pol's office after landing at Lohegaon Airport from Darjeeling. Patil discussed the investigation with various teams at Pol's office yesterday. "Various agencies and police teams from the Central and State government are jointly probing the crime. The investigations will only progress after we procure some concrete information," said Patil.

Sensitive matter
Shinde said, "Investigations are sensitive matters. I can't reveal more information as it may help those who are involved in the crime. We don't want to provide them with clues by making any public statement on this matter." He added that the information was discussed with CM Prithviraj Chavan at Lohegaon Airport.

CM tight lipped
Earlier, Chavan who was in Pune, also showed reluctance to divulge any information about the progress in the serial blasts. "I will not make any comment on the investigation until we come to any logical conclusion."u00a0