Police lathi-charge to control crowd; four injured including former mayor

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

Police resorted to a lathi-charge around 9 am on Friday to control a crowd that had gathered near the entrance of counting centre No. 7 at the Government Engineering College during the municipal election vote counting. In the incident, four persons, including former mayor Vikas Jain, were injured, three of them seriously. Following the incident, candidates and counting agents staged a sit-in protest and attempted to halt the counting process.

After guardian minister Sanjay Shirsat rushed to the spot, he expressed his anger over the phone to police commissioner Pravin Pawar. The commissioner later visited the site and assured a thorough inquiry and appropriate action. Following this assurance, the candidates and their representatives withdrew the protest, after which the situation at the counting centre eased. Police carried out the lathi-charge to control the crowd, in which four members of the Shinde Sena were injured. Former mayor Vikas Jain sustained a serious hand injury, while the son of candidate Raju Rajput was also injured in the assault. Demanding action against the police personnel involved, all Shinde Sena candidates launched a sit-in protest. Meanwhile, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde also contacted the injured persons over the phone. After nearly one to one-and-a-half hours of protest, the candidates’ representatives entered the counting centre.

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“What kind of arrogance is this in the police? Under which law and order framework is a lathi-charge carried out on representatives who have come for vote counting?”

- Guardian Minister Sanjay Shirsat

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“The incident will be examined from both sides and a decision on further action will be taken. We will investigate why and how the incident occurred before taking a decision.”

- Police Commissioner Pravin Pawar