Home Ministry directs Maha Govt for action against ATS officials over report leakage

New Delhi, Mar. 16 (ANI): The Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday directed the Maharashtra Government to take action against Mumbai Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) officials who revealed details to media about the Pakistani link of the terror suspects arrested on Saturday.

Earlier, a detailed press briefing by Mumbai ATS chief K P Raghuvanshi had revealed that arrested Mumbai residents, Abdul Latif and Riyaz Ali, were in touch with a Pakistan-based "Chacha."

The revelation to the media prompted "Chacha" to go off the interception radar of the central intelligence agencies.

This episode, on Monday, prompted Home Ministry to rap the Maharashtra police.

"We lost Uncle ... Chachaji is no more," said a senior Home Ministry official, who described the revelation as a "hit on the head for us."

Latif and Riyaz Ali, residents of Bandra and Dahisar respectively, were arrested by ATS on March 13 near Matunga railway station.

They were allegedly preparing to carry out terror strikes at an Oil and Natural Gas Facility (ONGC) facility in Mumbai, besides Thakkar Mall in Borivali and Mangaldas Market in south Mumbai. (ANI)