The Shiv Sena’s attempt at portraying itself as crusaders for the safety of Mumbaikars by floating a security outfit named ‘Bhagwa Guard’ (Saffron Guard) has not gone down well at all with the city police. The move is seen as nothing but a “political stunt” and the outfit can be considered a vigilante group with no real authority, Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandan told Newsline on Tuesday.

“I am strongly against such an outfit being created. The Bhagwa Guard will have no legal authority and is an extra-constitutional group. This can be viewed as a sort of vigilante outfit in the making,” he said.

According to the Sena, the Bhagwa Guard is being created to protect morning walkers in the city. The decision comes close on the heels of a woman being killed in the Kalachowkie area by motorcycle-borne robbers who tried to snatch her jewellery. The Sena is all set to train youth drawn from its cadre for the new outfit and claims this will also provide them job opportunities.

Talking tough, the city police chief also warned of stern action against members of the outfit if they took the law into their own hands. “According to the law, every citizen has a right to defend oneself and others if attacked. However, there are certain limitations mentioned in the law regarding how far one can go while doing so. If the Bhagwa Guard lynches someone resulting in a death, we will book them for murder. Also, the members of the outfit cannot carry any weapons on them. If found with weapons, they will be punished,” he said.

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