Mumbai, May 19 (PTI) A Maharashtra Congress delegation under state unit chief Nana Patole on Friday met a top police official and sought strict action against those creating law and order problems.

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Patole also attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party for supporting controversial Indian Revenue Service official Sameer Wankhede despite the CBI probing him for alleged extortion and bribery.

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After the meeting, Patole told reporters that the party wanted to know why action was not being taken against those making inflammatory statements and questioned if the police was working under "anyone's pressure".

The Congress delegation, which included former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and party leader Naseem Khan, met the state's additional director general of police Sanjay Saxena on the "deteriorating law and order situation", Patole said.

"Maharashtra has a reputation for maintaining social harmony. But events of the past few months show some people are working to disrupt the law and order in the state. Some organisations are trying to create rifts in society," he said.

"The Congress wants police to take strict action against those creating discord in society and making inflammatory statements. Attempts are being made to spoil the atmosphere in Aurangabad, Amravati, Akola, Shevgaon, Ahmednagar and Trimbakeshwar," he added.

Even Supreme Court orders regarding immediate filing of criminal charges against those who make inflammatory speeches and statements are not being followed, Patole alleged.

Some organisations deliberately made the issue of offering incense at the renowned Trimbakeshwar Temple in Nashik a controversial affair but villagers came forward to maintain peace and harmony, he said.

"Some organizations from outside are trying to disturb peace by going to Trimbakeshwar. Immediate action should be taken against them," he added.

He also condemned the use of force by police on people protesting against a proposed refinery complex in Barsu village in the state's Ratnagiri district.

"This police brutality should stop and charges against the protestors should be withdrawn. Tribal women were also oppressed while land was being acquired for the Mumbai-Vadodara highway," he alleged.

Patole said the increasing number of women and girls going missing in the state was worrisome.

An average of 70 girls are going missing per day and between January and March this year, 5,510 girls and women have gone missing, while the state government is busy watching 'The Kerala Story', Patole said.

Patole said the Central Bureau of Investigation was probing former Narcotics Control Bureau zonal director Sameer Wankhede but senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader like deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, minister Sudhir Mungantiwar etc were supporting him.

Why did Wankhede, who is a government servant, go to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh headquarters in Nagpur and who did he meet, Patole asked.

The CBI has registered an FIR against Wankhede for allegedly demanding Rs 25 crore as bribe from film star Shah Rukh Khan to not implicate the latter's son in the Cordelia cruise 'drug bust' case.

Wankhede, an Indian Revenue Service official who was posted with the Narcotics Control Bureau here in 2021, has moved the court with a petition seeking to quash the First Information Report (FIR) registered by CBI against him for alleged extortion and bribery.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)