Ashok Chavan is probably unaware that Maharashtra's deficit is a daunting Rs 8,462 crore. Why else would he spend Rs 1 crore of govt money on police security for Sathya Sai Baba's visit to his home?

Spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba was on a private visit to meet Chief Minister Ashok Chavan yesterday. He ended up costing the state government a cool Rs 1 crore after 30,000 policemen were deployed to keep him safe.

That's a staggering number considering that only around 10,000 policemen, including those from the traffic department, are on duty on a regular Sunday.

It was Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Himanshu Roy who took the decision to deploy the policemen and sent the message to all police stations on Saturday evening.

Yesterday, the police were already stretched to the limit after several cops were deployed for two religious events that took place at Azad Maidan and Somaiya Grounds in Chunabhatti.

Safe and Sound: Over 30,000 policemen were deployed in the city yesterday to make sure Sathya Sai Baba was safe and had a smooth journey from the airport to CM Ashok Chavan's house.

On duty

Around 900 policemen had been deployed from Worli, where there were traffic jams on the road to south Mumbai, to the CM's residence, Varsha, at Malabar Hill.
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There was a policeman every 20 m on either side of the road. No vehicles were allowed on Annie Besant Road so that Sathya Sai Baba's 20-vehicle cavalcade could pass smoothly.

Sniffer dogs were used to check for explosives at Varsha and CCI, where Baba met some devotees later.
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Special Branch officers with the Intelligence Bureau were also on hand to keep tabs on rival religious groups.

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