Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Tuesday said he has ordered an immediate probe into the case of alleged assault on a retired Army man by Jalgaon BJP MP Unmesh Patil and his supporters in 2016.
In a tweet, Mr. Deshmukh said Sonu Mahajan was attacked by Mr. Patil, who was an MLA at that time, and his supporters, but the case was sidelined due to political interference by the previous BJP-led government.
Mr. Deshmukh said, “The FIR was filed 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.”
State Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said the Maha Vikas Aghadi government has delivered justice to Mr. Mahajan by ordering an inquiry into the case. “Instead of punishing the BJP MP and others who attacked the Army veteran, the previous Devendra Fadnavis-led government persecuted him by putting him in jail and externing him. No action was taken even after directions from the high court,” Mr. Sawant said.
Mr. Deshmukh has ordered the probe at a time when the ruling Shiv Sena is facing criticism for the assault on retired Navy man Madan Sharma. Six Shiv Sena workers were rearrested on Tuesday for allegedly assaulting Mr. Sharma (62) in Mumbai last week for sharing an objectionable cartoon of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on social media. The workers were arrested last Friday and released on bail on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Mr. Sharma met Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and demanded the imposition of President’s Rule in the State.
Mr. Sharma later told reporters, “When I was beaten up, they levelled allegations that I am with the BJP and the RSS. So I announce that I am with the BJP and the RSS from now onwards.”