Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: On the eve of voting in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, two political groups clashed in Naregaon on Wednesday evening, triggering tension in the area. In a related incident, a candidate was also beaten up by an opposing group in the Chikalthana area.
Political rivalry had been brewing for the past few days in the Naregaon area and erupted on Wednesday evening over allegations of distributing money to voters. The two groups clashed violently, following which the police intervened and resorted to a lathi charge. Police deployed strict bandobast in all lanes of Naregaon till late at night and brought the situation under control.
Ayan Chotu Patel (28), a candidate in the fray for the municipal corporation election from Chikalthana, was attacked on the afternoon of Jan 14 when around 10 to 14 people stopped him, alleging that he was distributing money to voters, and assaulted him. The attackers also threatened Patel’s mother. Based on Patel’s complaint, a case has been registered against Shakil Shaikh, Aref Shaikh, Mazar Shaikh, Amir Shaikh, Jafar Qazi, Juned Azar Shaikh and four others at the Cidco MIDC police station.
In Naregaon, two groups among the main candidates had been involved in a dispute for the past few days. The groups clashed even on Wednesday morning, but the situation escalated into a severe fight around 8.30pm, when hundreds of people gathered on the main road.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Prashant Swami, Assistant Commissioner of Police Manoj Pagare, Police Inspector Avinash Aghav and Geeta Bagwade reached the spot with police personnel and ordered the closure of shops in the market area. Police resorted to a lathi charge and dispersed the crowd. The riot control squad and the rapid action force were deployed in the area, and the injured were rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital.
In another incident, members of two groups confronted each other at Avishkar Chowk over allegations of distributing money to voters. Police Inspector Atul Yerme took immediate action, following which the crowd dispersed on the arrival of the police.
