MUMBAI: A row over a road contract worth Rs 2 crore has compelled police to book a case against six Shiv Sena leaders including an MLA and Dy Mayor of Aurangabad for allegedly beating up a fellow party worker.
Shiv Sena Aurangabad city organizer, former corporator and contractor Sushil Khedkar, who had filed papers for a road contract worth Rs 2 crore, was beaten up by party workers at the office of MLA Sanjay Shirsat on Saturday. He then filed a complaint, acting over which the police registered an FIR against six party workers including MLA Shirsat, Dy mayor of Aurangabad Rajendra Janjal, said ACP Hanumant Bhapkar.
City BJP chief Kishanchand Tanwani had accused the Shiv Sena last week of having clashes over the road contract. However, City Mayor Nandakumar Ghodole had denied any such row back then, while Dy Mayor Janjal had blamed Tanwani accusing him of having eyeing the contract. However, after the FIR was filed all the accused have got themselves hospitalised, sources have said.
Sources within Shiv Sena said that MLA Ambadas Danve tried to make peace between the two factions within the city unit, yet Khedkar was beaten up. Danve then raised the issue with top party leadership and hence the police acted immediately in the case.
Shirsat and Janjal have been charged under Indian Penal Code Sections 323, 324 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147, 148 and 149 (rioting), another police official said.
“The MLA told me not to submit a bid for the tender which is worth Rs 2.25 crore, but I did. Deputy Mayor Rajendra Janjal also beat me up along with Shirsat. I had to get admitted in a government hospital,” Khedkar claimed and later approached Vedant Nagar police station to file a case.