Tension prevailed in Nallasopara constituency on Saturday night when Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) workers allegedly attacked vehicles carrying Shiv Sena candidate Pradeep Sharma and his supporters, accusing them of illegally distributing money to voters.
Onlookers said the police resorted to a mild lathi charge to bring the situation under control, which the police have denied.
Police inspector Vasant Labde from the Nallasopara police station said around 10 p.m., a BVA member informed the police station that Mr. Sharma and some people in five more cars were distributing cash to people in Nilemore village. “When we reached the spot, 60-70 BVA workers had assembled at the spot and blocked Mr. Sharma and his companions’ cars. They demanded the cars be checked for cash. By the time we started checking them, the mob got violent as more people joined in,” he said.
‘No lathi charge’
Mr. Labde said more than 100 people had gathered at the spot by then and had tried attacking the cars. He denied, however, that there was a lathi charge. “We were just trying to control the crowd and there was no lathi charge … We have filed an FIR against BVA and Shiv Sena members for disobeying police orders and unlawful assembly under sections of the Indian Penal Code,” he said.
Mr. Sharma, a former police officer, was not supposed to move around the constituency with five cars after 6 p.m. as it is a violation of the election code of conduct. The police said they asked Mr. Sharma to report to the Nallasopara police station, but he instead headed to his residence, which comes under the Manikpur police station’s jurisdiction. ‘
Locals vs outsiders
BVA leader and Nallasopara MLA Kshitij Thakur and his party members accused the police of helping Mr. Sharma escape. Mr. Thakur also said that the people in the cars were not local residents. “How dare they come from outside and beat up locals? How could the police let the cars leave the constituency without checking them? We are going to write to everyone from the Prime Minister to the Chief Minister about how Mr. Labde helped Mr. Sharma, who has had a criminal tendency in the past, escape,” the MLA, who is seeking re-election, said.
Defending BVA members, Mr. Thakur said party workers had waited for the police and flying squad officials to reach the spot and got into a brawl only when the people in car tried to hurt them. He also accused police inspectors Vilas Chagule and Anil Dabde from Waliv and Virar police stations respectively of helping Mr. Sharma get away with wrongdoings.
“Mr Sharma is campaigning with gangsters, drug dealers and bar owners to gain political leverage. In fact, he had called Appa (Mr. Thakur’s father and BVA chief Hitendra Thakur) last month to say he wanted to contest from Andheri (East) and not Nallasopara. While we do not mind local Shiv Sena members campaigning for him, we cannot allow criminals to do so,” he said.
BVA president Hitendra Thakur said the party will not keep quiet if anyone hurt local residents. “We love our people more than anything. Those who hurt them will face a backlash,”’ he said.
Sharma refutes claims
Mr. Sharma, meanwhile, said he had stepped out to meet party members when BVA members tried to wreak havoc. “I am thankful to the police who handled the situation well. Mr. Thakur’s allegations are all false. I did not report to the Nallasopara police station as 500 BVA men and 400 Shiv Sena members had assembled there by midnight. If I had stayed there, the situation would have worsened, and so my statement was taken at my residence,” he said. He said he is contesting the election to end the dominance of BVA-affiliated criminals in the area, and vigilant citizens would vote for him.
