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Stating that 'innocent youth' were being shown by media during police raids on rave parties, Maharashtra government on Saturday announced curbs on media coverage of the raids.
"Directions would be given to police force that media should not be allowed to take pictures of the raid and publish faces of accused," Minister of State for Home Nitin Raut informed the Legislative Council.
Jitendra Awhad (NCP) raised the issue saying photos of innocent youth were taken during raids on rave parties and wanted to know if the government was going to take any cognizance of the matter.
Deputy Chairman Vasant Davkhare asked the minister to reinvestigate the case of Sinhgad rave party near Pune and alleged that many innocents were forcefully declared guilty.
"Parents have complained that their children were innocent and did not test positive in narcotics tests but the police pressurised doctors to prove them guilty," he said.
The issue has to be dealt carefully as it pertains to future of youth, Davkhare said. Some information which came to light in the case was so offensive that it cannot be discussed in the House, he said.
An IPS officer would be appointed to solely handle the Narcotics Department, Raut said. DCP Vishwas Nangre Patil holds additional charge of the department.
Objecting to Nangre Patil distributing to media of CCTV footage of Taj hotel operation during Mumbai terror attacks, BJP MLC Vinod Tawade demanded 'action against such publicity-crazy officers'.
Police officers would be given appropriate directions and police department would ensure that only the spokesperson speaks to media to avoid any confusion, Raut said.
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