Unruly scenes at Pune Congress election

Sambhajirao Kunjir was kicked, punched and hit on the head by rival faction members

Unruly scenes marked the process for election of Pune District Congress President as workers belonging to rival factions came to blows, beating up the former MLA, Sambhaji Kunjir, in the melee on Tuesday.

Sambhajirao Kunjir was kicked, punched and hit on the head with a plastic chair by rival faction members at the Congress Bhavan in Pune.

The party meeting held unanimously re-elected Devidas Bhansali for the post even as senior Congressman Anantrao Thopte, who heads the State disciplinary committee, told reporters that an inquiry would be conducted into the incident that led to the scuffle .

Mr. Kunjir, allegedly assaulted in the meeting by workers belonging to the Sanjay Jagtap faction from Purandar taluka, said the attack on him was pre-planned and those involved in it were “goondas.”

In an official briefing after the meet, Mr. Thopte told journalists that Mr. Kunjir was not a voter in the election although he was present during the process.

Probe

“We had no idea that such an incident would happen as previous elections had been held peacefully. The unseemly episode will be probed,” he said.

Mr. Bhansali said according to the election rules, only those who are voting members of the district committee are allowed to attend the electoral process, and stated that Mr. Kunjir was not one of them.

He said presence of “some people” at the meet was not valid and it resulted in unruly scenes. Mr. Bhansali denied that “goondas” were brought in to beat up Mr. Kunjir and described the incident as unfortunate.