Pune: Police on Tuesday visited the office of a private election campaign management firm in the city, providing its services to NCP. Naresh Arora, the firm’s founder, told reporters, “The police personnel sought details about what type of work is done in the office and what work pertaining to NCP is carried out. My senior colleagues or I were not in the office then. The junior staff members shared the information demanded by the police.”He said the details about the complaint were not shared with the staff members present in the office on the last day of campaigning for the municipal corporation polls in the state. They got a phone number from the police personnel. When they contacted that number, nobody received the call, he said.Asked if the police visited his office because he was campaigning for NCP and Ajit Pawar, Arora said, “Our work pertains to campaigning. We are not into politics directly, so I would not like to make any political comment.”Amitesh Kumar, commissioner of police (CP), Pune, said, “We received some information about suspicious activities at a location in the jurisdiction of the Pune commissionerate. Immediately, a team of an officer and two policemen went to the spot to verify it. Nothing adverse was noticed at the place, nor with the people working there. So, the team left.”NCP chief Ajit Pawar, in a tweet, confirmed the development. “Officers from the Crime Branch visited the Pune office of Naresh Arora and his organisation, ‘DesignBoxed’, who work for the NCP, to gather information. During the process conducted by the officers concerned, all necessary information was provided and full cooperation was extended. No objectionable matter or irregularity was found during this process,” he tweeted.According to Ajit Pawar’s tweet, NCP respects the law and believes in cooperating with all statutory processes. In this case as well, complete and necessary cooperation was extended to the relevant agencies. NCP was presenting its stand on this entire matter with restraint, responsibility and clarity. “We urge everyone not to spread any confusion, rumours or unnecessary narratives regarding this subject. Our position is that any conclusion should be drawn solely based on facts,” Ajit Pawar said in this social media post. (With inputs from Mihir Tanksale)
