Former Maharashtra ATS chief Raghuvanshi claims he faced pressure to arrest Hindutva leaders

Mumbai, Feb 27 (PTI) Former IPS officer K P Raghuvanshi has claimed in his authorised biography that he faced pressure to arrest leaders such as Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and RSS functionary Indresh Kumar at different points in his career.

He paid the price for not doing so, the former chief of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has been quoted as saying in "Troubleshooter", his biography penned by journalist Jitendra Dixit.

The book was released in Raghuvanshi's presence by former Director General of Police A N Roy. Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, former CBI director Subodh Jayaswal, former DGP Rashmi Shukla and ATS chief Nawal Bajaj were among those present for the function.

In 2010, Raghuvanshi was shunted out as Maharashtra ATS chief before the completion of his tenure.

According to the book, a senior minister in the UPA government had put pressure on him to arrest Indresh Kumar in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. Raghuvanshi refused, citing lack of evidence.

Before that, a senior Maharashtra minister had demanded that he arrest Bal Thackeray in the 1993 Mumbai riots case, as per the book.

Raghuvanshi retired in 2015 as Director General of the Maharashtra Security Force. He currently serves as head of the vigilance unit for the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals. PTI ZA KRK