Firing by BJP MLA inside police station: Fadnavis orders high-level probe

THANE: Deputy CM and home minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced a high-level probe into the Hill Line police station firing in Ulhasnagar and also assured people that “the law is the same for everyone, irrespective of the person or political party”. “The probe by the DGP will reveal whether the firing took place inside the police station or elsewhere,” he said, adding that they would have also to find out what led to the firing.

The shocking incident took place on Friday night when Ganpat Gaikwad, BJP MLA from Kalyan, allegedly fired at Mahesh Gaikwad, a leader from the Shiv Sena led by chief minister Eknath Shinde. The two leaders had an altercation over a land dispute, and it was while both parties were at the police station to file complaints that Ganpat Gaikwad fired point-blank at Mahesh.

The Hill Line police have booked six accused, among them Ganpat Gaikwad, Harshal Kene and Sandeep Saravankar were arrested. Vaibhav Gaikwad, Ganpat Gaikwad’s son, is absconding. The forensic committee reached the police station to collect evidence from the cabin of the senior police inspector where the attack took place.

Officials said that, taking security concerns into consideration, all the three accused had been kept in Kalwa Police Station. A large force has been deployed outside the police station, in Kalyan constituency and in the residential areas of the two injured and the accused. Earlier, the police had planned to produce the accused before the court via video-conferencing but they eventually took them in person to the Ulhasnagar court at around 5 pm.

The accused were produced at the Ulhasnagar court and the police were granted their custody up to February 14. During the court hearing, Ganpat Gaikwad raised his voice to declare that his son was innocent and questioned why the police had added his name to the FIR. After he had finished speaking, the judge listened to the investigation officer who said, “The initial investigation suggests that it was a pre-planned act. Therefore, we need 14 days’ custody to investigate his mobile phone and other details.” The court granted 11 days’ custody.

Several senior police officers visited the spot in the early hours of Saturday. Additional police commissioner Datta Shinde, giving an account of the gun attack, said, “While the complainants were seated in the senior PI’s cabin, MLA Ganpat Gaikwad also reached the cabin to file a complaint in the land matter. The senior PI, who had left the cabin to control the crowd, rushed back on hearing a gunshot and saw that Ganpat had fired at Mahesh Gaikwad and was hitting him with his revolver after he fell to the ground. When the PI snatched it from his hand, the MLA’s bodyguard, Harshal Kene, entered the cabin and began firing on Mahesh Gaikwad and local worker Rahul Patil.”

Shinde said that ten bullets were fired on the two victims, six of which struck Mahesh Gaikwad. “From the CCTV footage, it is clearly visible that everyone was calm,” he said. “There was no question of self-defence for the MLA to take his gun out as he has claimed. We are investigating further but right now it looks like a preplanned attack. The weapons have been confiscated.”

The opposition has come down heavily on the Shiv Sena-BJP government for the “lawlessness” in the state. Referring to BJP MLA Gaikwad’s allegations that CM Shinde was protecting criminals, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said, “The mafia raaj will prosper if Shinde continues as the CM. The government is targeting opposition leaders on the one hand and releasing gangsters from jail for the benefit of the ruling parties in the elections.”

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray pointed out several past incidents in which Shinde faction leaders were involved in attacking people, including BJP workers. “An MLA of the Shinde faction threatened Mumbaikars with a gun during a Ganpati festival,” he said. “Later a bullet was fired from his gun on the premises of the police station. The ballistic report was not made public. Instead, as a reward for this behaviour he is now the president of a temple trust.

“In another case, the son of a Shinde faction MLA was caught on CCTV cameras kidnapping a businessman from Mumbai but there was no police action,” he continued. “The supporters of the same MLA were involved in beating a BJP party worker in North Mumbai but again no police action. In the past two years, many riots have been sparked off over fake WhatsApp messages. Goons have been threatening businesses. This is the current state of affairs under a highly incapable, shameless and illegal CM. How will citizens feel safe under these criminals running the government?” Supriya Sule, NCP Sharad Pawar faction MP said, “This is nothing but gang war, which has been going on in the state with the blessings of the government. The home minister should resign immediately. I will raise this issue in Parliament and ask for an appointment with union home minister Amit Shah to discuss this.”