Thane: An intelligence failure, delayed police intervention and lack of a contingency plan allowed the Oct 27 protest over Shiv Sena (UBT) functionary Pradeep Purnekar’s murder to escalate into a highway blockade at Manpada, leaving thousands of commuters stranded for hours.Retired Col V N Supanekar, a Pune-based disaster management expert, said police should have anticipated the escalation and acted before the agitation spread.“Local police stations have sufficient intelligence networks to identify key players behind such protests. Had the police identified the principal organiser and acted in advance, the agitation could have been contained before it reached critical traffic junctions,” he said.Former IPS officer and lawyer Y P Singh said senior officers should have been present at the protest site to engage with agitators and defuse tensions. “Such situations demand considerable law-and-order skills. With tempers running high, the immediate priority should be the presence of senior officers and dialogue with protest leaders to defuse tensions,” he said.Supanekar said advance traffic diversions, coordination with transport agencies and timely commuter advisories could have reduced the disruption. Alternative routes should have been activated before vehicles reached the protest site, he said.Thane police commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre said police initially tried to resolve the situation through dialogue rather than coercive action.“Officers remained in constant touch with the protesters, held discussions with their representatives and repeatedly appealed to them to call off the agitation. However, when the situation escalated and road blockades continued, we had to intervene to restore traffic movement and prevent further disruption,” he said.(Inputs by Nishikant Karlikar)
