Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today stated in the Legislative Assembly here that his government was probing the intelligence inputs on the underworld money in real estate business in Mumbai.
Replying to a debate on the law and order situation in the state, Fadnavis said that police should be given more time to crack the Govind Pansare murder case, and rejected the demand to hand it over to CBI.
Intelligence inputs about underworld funding of real estate projects in the city were being received for the last four years but the earlier government did not take any action, he alleged.
"But my government has started taking effective steps in this direction. There will not be a direct proof (of underworld funds) but it is our duty to find the evidence. The underworld connection could be in SRA (slum rehabilitation) projects. Strict action would be taken in this regard," he said.
The government will not allow anti-national elements to use the real estate business in Mumbai as a front, he said.
"If anyone gets threats from underworld dons based abroad, name of the complainant would be kept secret and action would be taken," he said, adding that three accomplices of the fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari had been arrested so far.
The Chief Minister, who handles the home department himself, said the government had also stopped political interference in the police department.
"Political interference happens when you concentrate all the powers in Mantralaya. We have delegated powers to the district level," he said.
