They tried to kill me in Surat: Sena MLA Nitin Deshmukh

NAGPUR: Shiv Sena MLA from Balapur in Akola district Nitin Deshmukh has alleged that a bid was made on his life in Surat, where he was “forcibly” kept at a hotel with other rebel legislators led by Eknath Shinde.
Deshmukh, who parted with the group during its second halt at Guwahati in Assam, landed at Nagpur airport on Wednesday afternoon and said he stands firmly behind chief minister Uddhav Thackeray in the current political crisis.
“I had gone with Shinde (to Surat) because he was our minister, our leader,” said Deshmukh, conveying to media persons that he had no inkling of what was about to transpire.
Deshmukh claimed he tried to return to Mumbai from Surat on the intervening night of Monday-Tuesday. “I tried to leave the hotel around 3am, but nearly 200 policemen prevented me from doing so. They forcibly took me to a hospital saying I had suffered a heart attack, even though it was not true. There they gave me some injections. They tried to kill me, but due to God’s grace I am safe,” said Deshmukh.
Later, the entire entourage of rebel MLAs, including Deshmukh, was moved to Guwahati from Surat. As per sources, Deshmukh refused to leave Guwahati’s Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi international airport premises even as other MLAs went ahead to a hotel. After staying put for a few hours, he flew down to Nagpur on Wednesday afternoon, and left for Akola by road.
Meanwhile, speaking to a news channel over the phone, Eknath Shinde refuted the charges of forcibly keeping Deshmukh with the rebel group in Surat and later Guwahati. “If we had taken him forcibly, then would I have sent him back with two men?” he asked.
Deshmukh told media, “I am Balasaheb’s shiv sainik. I am Uddhav Thackeray’s shiv sainik. I am a solider of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, hence even Gujarat police could not do any harm to me. I am absolutely fit and fine, standing in front of you today.”
On Tuesday, Deshmukh’s wife Pranjali had filed a ‘missing’ complaint with Akola police and even told media persons there that she would go to Surat to trace her husband.