Mumbai: Thieves had a field day when the MLAs were busy during the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti government at Azad Maidan in South Mumbai, the police said. A police officer said on Sunday that gold chains, mobile phones and cash all worth Rs 12 lakh were stolen during the Mahayuti government's swearing-in ceremony. He further stated that FIRs have been registered against unidentified persons and a manhunt has been launched to nab the accused, the Azad Maidan Police Station officer said.
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Chief Minister and Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde and NCP leader Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy chief ministers. The ceremony was a grand affair with creme de la creme of industry, films and politics were present, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
More than 4,000 police personnel were deployed at the venue and the premises to provide foolproof security as the VVIPS and VIPs had come to witness the swearing-in ceremony. "The thieves, who made off with gold chains, mobile phones, and wallets, took advantage of the crowd exiting through gate number two. Both local police and Crime Branch personnel are actively working to track down the culprits. The CCTV footage is being examined, but no arrests have been made so far," said the police officer.
