Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Tuesday said he has ordered an immediate probe into the case of alleged assault on an ex-serviceman by Jalgaon BJP MP Unmesh Patil and his supporters four years ago.
In a video message, Deshmukh said in 2016, ex- serviceman Sonu Mahajan was attacked by Patil, who was an MLA at that time, and his supporters, but the police allegedly did not register an FIR as the BJP was in power in the state then.
Mahajan later approached the Bombay High Court, which ordered that a First Information Report (FIR) be registered in connection with the incident.
"The FIR was registered in 2019. In the last four-five days, I received several memorandums on this issue. So, I have ordered the Jalgaon superintendent of police to probe the matter immediately," Deshmukh said.
State Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant on Sunday alleged that Mahajan had been fighting for justice since 2016 when he was "attacked on the orders of then BJP MLA Unmesh Patil who went to become an MP".
Deshmukh ordered the probe at a time when the ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra is facing criticism for the assault on former Navy man Madan Sharma.
Six Shiv Sena workers were re-arrested on Tuesday for allegedly assaulting Sharma (62) in Mumbai last week.
Sharma was attacked for allegedly forwarding a cartoon mocking Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on social media, following which the six Shiv Sena workers were arrested last Friday and later released on bail on Saturday.
The Shiv Sena heads the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which also comprises the NCP and Congress.
