Do not add fuel to raging fire: Uddhav to Lalu

Mumbai/Gaya, Oct 29 : Shiv Sena party chief Uddhav Thackeray has warned Bihar's leaders not to add fuel to a raging migrants' row. Thackeray was reacting to Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's demands of putting a ban on Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) accused of fuelling anti-immigrant rhetoric in Maharashtra.

"Bigwigs of politics are involved into this issue. We don't want to be dragged into the controversy, as we are small fries compared to others involved. But, I would advice Lalu Prasad to not to add fuel to the already raging issue," said Uddhav. An all-party delegation from Bihar led by state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Lalu met with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Monday.

They called for Central intervention to stop the violence against North Indians in Maharashtra, besides a judicial probe into the killing of Rahul Raj, who allegedly tried to hijack a public bus by scaring passengers with a revolver at Kurla in Maharashtra.

The Mumbai Police had later shot dead Rahul, 26-year-old native of Patna.

Television pictures showed Rahul gesturing that he wanted to speak to someone, before he was shot. Police initially said he was trying to take hostages, then changed their story and said Rahul probably wanted to meet the city's police chief.

Witnesses said Rahul repeatedly demanded a meeting with MNS chief Raj Thackeray.

The body of Rahul Raj was flown in to Patna after completion of post- mortem in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, authorities beefed up security for hundreds of Jain pilgrims fromaharashtra, who arrived in Gaya. The pilgrims will stay in Pawanpuri Temple for two days before returning back.

Pilgrims, who have been provided additional security in the wake of migrants' row, said they were satisfied over the special arrangements. "I was afraid when I left Mumbai that there would be lot of problems here in Bihar. But we are fine. There is no problem here," said Suresh Shah, a pilgrim from Maharashtra.

Police said that security vehicles would escort the buses of pilgrims to Pawanpuri. "We will escort them and take them to the border as there would be another escort party on the other side. There would be pilot ahead of them and we would be escorting them," said Mohammad Abdul Habib, police sub-inspector of Gaya.

ANI