Police filed an FIR against seven members of the CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and arrested two for allegedly assaulting a former member of the party who had switched over to the BJP around three months ago.
In the early hours of Sunday, the accused allegedly assaulted the former member for displaying banners with Gudi Padwa wishes at Ashokwan in Dahisar East.
He was seriously injured in this attack and is undergoing treatment at a hospital.
Ware put up banners for Gudi Padwa
According to Dahisar police, who filed the FIR, complainant Bhibhishan Ware and his colleague Navnath Navadkar joined the BJP following an internal party conflict.
With the Gudi Padwa festival right around the corner, Ware put up banners with good wishes from Navadkar at the Ashokvan-Dahisar East intersection. However, he did so by removing Sena leader Prakash Surve's flags.
An altercation erupted between the two parties, but Ware eventually accepted that the location had been reserved for Surve's banner.
According to Ware's complaint, despite a resolution to the altercation, Sena members Sunil Mandve, Anil Dagde, Anil Nair, and four others assaulted him, resulting in fractures.
Sena members wanted revenge
He said that after he left the party and joined the BJP, Sena members wanted revenge and assaulted him even though the banner issue was resolved.
According to police, Ware suffered fractures in his collar bone and other parts of his body. Police have filed an FIR under relevant sections of the IPC on charges of assault and criminal intimidation.
Following the attack, BJP Legislative Council MLA Praveen Darekar visited the injured worker Bhibhishan Ware at the hospital.
