Government to install grills, safety nets

Mumbai:  A day after a man allegedly committed suicide by jumping from Mantralaya, the home department remained tight-lipped about who Harshal Raote, the deceased, had met on Thursday. The entry pass shows that Raote, a murder accused, had come to meet an official from the home department. Meanwhile, the government is planning to install grills at open spaces in the Mantralaya corridor as well as a safety net on the first floor to prevent any such incident.

Raote, who was on furlough, had come to meet someone in the home department. However, department officials refused to divulge any details about it. In fact, no one in the home department confirmed that they had seen Raote on the day of suicide. “The inquiry is on and the investigation officer would know the details,” a senior home department official said. Sources in home department said that the CCTV footage of Mantralaya was checked but they did not find anything suspicious about Raote. Since the CCTVs are installed at corners in the corridor, they do not cover the entire area. The departments do not have CCTV cameras inside offices.

A home department official confirmed that a meeting was held to discuss the security at Mantralaya. “The government has already taken many security measures. Today it was discussed to enclose open areas with grills and to fix a safety net on the first floor. “Police constables are stationed at each floor preventing people from going near the barricades,” the official added. It was also suggested to have a counsellor present at Mantralaya. However, looking at the huge number of people who come to Mantralaya it will not help, he said. The annex building of Mantralaya is going to have the grills soon as a man had threatened to jump from the seventh floor last year.

On Friday, the last day of the week, Mantralaya had fewer visitors compared to cabinet days. Two-three policemen were also stationed at every floor near the open space. They were keenly monitoring every passerby. At the entry point, identity cards of people were thoroughly checked and a few were even questioned about who they had come to meet etc.