In a shocking incident, a local leader affiliated with Eknath Shinde’s faction of Shiv Sena sustained injuries in a shooting incident that occurred on the premises of a police station in Thane district on Friday night.
The victim, identified as Mahesh Gaikwad, was shot at, allegedly by a BJP MLA. Following the incident, the injured Sena leader was promptly taken to a hospital in Thane for medical attention.
Kalyan MLA Ganpat Gaikwad of BJP opened fire on Mahesh Gaikwad, the Shiv Sena chief of Kalyan, inside a police station at Ulhasnagar in Thane district on Friday night over a land dispute, a police official has said.
The BJP MLA involved in the shooting has been apprehended by the police. The motive behind the attack is yet to be fully disclosed, and investigations are underway to ascertain the circumstances leading to the incident.
As the investigations progress, the police will be looking into the details surrounding the altercation between the two political factions and the events that transpired inside the police station.
Fadnavis orders probe
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a high-level inquiry into the Ulhasnagar firing incident involving a BJP MLA and a local Shiv Sena leader, calling it “serious”.
“The Incident is serious and I have asked the DGP (director general of police) to hold a high-level Inquiry. Everyone is equal before the law irrespective of their political affiliations,” Fadnavis told reporters.
The probe will find out what made the MLA open fire and under what circumstances, he said.
State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the party will take action against the MLA if he is guilty.
MLA says son beaten up
Talking to the news channel ‘Zee24taas’ before his arrest, Ganpat Gaikwad said that he used the firearm as his son was being beaten (by the Sena leader’s men) at the police station. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is trying to establish a “kingdom of criminals” in Maharashtra, he alleged.
The BJP MLA accused CM’s son and Kalyan MP Shrikant Shinde of putting up boards and grabbing credit for the work done by him. “I had told my seniors many times that these people are indulging in violence against my leaders,” he said.
Ulhasnagar is a part of the Kalyan parliamentary constituency.
