Maha Cong leader demands ban on e-tailer for 'selling' weapons

Senior Maharashtra Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil today demanded proper investigation into online purchase of sharp-edged weapons by some people in Aurangabad, which he said were seized during communal riots.

He also demanded ban on an e-retailer from which the items were allegedly purchased.

"Weapons seized during the Aurangabad riots were purchased online. Swords, knives, and 28 otherweapons were purchased online," the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly said in a statement.

Aurangabad police's crime branch had seized weapons, like swords and knives, purchased illegally through an online shopping site and arrested four employees of a courier firm in this connection on Monday night.

The courier service had apparently brought the parcel containing the weapons from Amritsar in Punjab.

"Even though the Aurangabad police took necessary action, it is serious that weapons are sold so blatantly. The government should ban the portal," Vikhe Patil said while demanding a thorough investigation into the matter.

Two people were killed and several others, including 10 police personnel, were injured in the violence that erupted in Aurangabad on the night of May 11. The violence started when two groups clashed in Shahganj area of the city.

Police had arrested 70 persons, including alleged mastermind of the violence Laxminarayan Bakharia alias Lachchu Pahelwan, and a corporator each of the Shiv Sena and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM).