Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, April 8 With the city of Nanded in central Maharashtra recording five murders in three days, Shiv Sena legislator Hemant Patil expressed concern over the law and order situation on Wednesday and claimed that there was an alarming proliferation of illegal firearms in the area.
Extortion was also rampant in the city, he said.
"If a search is conducted, at least 1,500 to 2,000 illegal pistols would be found in Nanded. Nobody feels any fear (of the law) here," said Patil, a Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council.
A 35-year-old Shiv Sena worker was stabbed to death in the city on Monday. Three people died in a clash between two gangs, and another person was killed under the jurisdiction of the Vazirabad police station over the weekend.
As Nanded is near the borders of Telangana and Karnataka, criminals flee to these states after committing a crime here, Patil told reporters.
The MLC also claimed that students who come to Nanded for education face extortion. "Their laptops and mobile phones are taken, and they are also beaten up. There is a need to establish a police commissionerate in Nanded as soon as possible," he said.
"Hundreds of crores of rupees were collected from Nanded's businessmen in recent days. Many businessmen have left the city. So the political leaders should take a strong stand and must not give shelter to criminals, irrespective of their political affiliations," the MLC said.