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Most criminals have been eliminated, Thackeray assures industrialists

Most of the dangerous gangsters have been shot dead and there was nothing for the industrialists to worry about, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has said.

Thackeray, who was speaking at a dinner meet hosted by former Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry chairman Kantikumar R Podar on Saturday, said, "Small-time criminals have suddenly graduated to large-scale extortion and the police find it difficult to trace them as they have no past record of crime."

Speaking on the occasion, Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi told industrialists not to contribute to the propaganda being created by the media about crime wave. With the help of traders and businessmen everything is under control and the atmosphere will further improve within a month, he said.

"The incidence of crime has come down... And after the Organised Crime Control Act is passed, we will be able to bring gangsters to task in a better way," the chief minister said, adding that the police has sought permission to tap phones and have also asked cell phone companies to stop usage of pre-paid SIM cards.

UNI

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