Man arrested for posing as security official during Amit Shah's Mumbai visit

Mumbai: Police have arrested a man for posing as a security official during Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent two-day visit to Mumbai. The arrested is Hemant Pawar, who is the personal secretary of an MP from Andhra Pradesh. The details of the arrest were released on Wednesday.

Wearing a Home Ministry ID card, Hemant Pawar participated in both the events the minister was part of, and he was also outside the residences of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.

Pawar was apprehended after a suspicious official informed the police about his presence and questioned him. When they found that he was not part of Shah's security personnel, he was arrested for security breach.

He would be kept under police custody for five days, sources said.

Shah visited Lalbaugcha Raja, a prominent Ganesh pandal, on Monday during his two-day visit to the city. He also visited the residences of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.

A controversy had erupted when it was reported that an ambulance was held up in suburban Andheri to let Shah's convoy to pass. But Mumbai Traffic Police dismissed the allegation saying the ambulance was not carrying any emergency patient and that its siren kept wailing due to technical defect.

"After the enquiry, it has been verified by the traffic official present at the spot that there was no emergency patient in the ambulance and due to defect, the ambulance driver was unable to switch off the siren. The allegation is false," the Traffic Police said in a statement issued on the official Twitter handle.

After videos and images went viral showing the ambulance waiting in traffic while the convoy passed by, many netizens slammed the BJP and the "VIP culture".

(With PTI inputs)