NAGPUR: The Chief Information Commissioner of Maharashtra, Ratnakar Gaikwad, was attacked by some members of a political outfit in Aurangabad on Monday.
Mr. Gaikwad, who retired as Chief Secretary before taking up the post of Maharashtra’s Chief Information Commissioner, was attacked at Subhedari guest houses in Aurangabad by a group of people allegedly belonging to the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh, a political outfit led by Dr. B.R.Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar.
Some videos of the attack, recorded by some local news channels, showed a group of men and women thrashing Mr. Gaikwad in the presence of eight to nine policemen.
The policemen are seen to be trying to save Mr. Gaikwad from the group which was shouting slogans in the name of Dr. Ambedkar.
One of the attackers also spoke to mediapersons when the policemen were trying to escort Mr. Gaikwad out of the guest house.
“He demolished our iconic Ambedkar Bhavan (at Dadar, Mumbai). Today the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh taught him a lesson,” the attacker told local TV channels.
The BBM chief Mr. Prakash Ambedkar did not respond to repeated calls from The Hindu to get his reaction to the incident.
According to some reports, the Aurangabad police have arrested the BBM district chief Amit Boikar and BBM member Dinesh Salve, Shrirang Dusane, Gautam Ganvir, Santabai Jule and Rekh Umjale for the attack.
Mr. Gaikwad is a trustee of the People’s Improvement Trust which was blamed by the grandsons of Dr. Ambedkar for demolishing the Ambedkar Bhawan in Dadar in June 2016.
Mr. Prakash Ambedkar had also filed a police complaint against the PIT trust and Mr. Gaikwad after the demolition.
The PIT and Mr. Gaikwad, however, claimed that the building was “dilapidated” and a new centrr would be built at its place.
