Dadar MLA fires in police station amid Sena vs Sena

MUMBAI: A mid a day-long dharna by the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of Shiv Sena, the police on Sunday evening filed an FIR against Dadar MLA Sada Sarvankar for firing a bullet “on the ground” within the premises of the Dadar police station. The incident took place early Sunday morning around 1am.
The FIR was suo motu registered by the police against Sarvankar, his son Samadhan, Santosh Telvane, Kunal Wadekar and six others. Sarvankar has joined the Eknath Shinde faction and had taken local party workers along with him, including the vibhag pramukh Telvane.
Simmering tensions between the Thackeray and the Shinde faction came to the fore on the final day of the Ganesh festival. As loyalists of the two parties participated in different processions, taking idols for immersion, they ran into each other on the road and began shouting slogans against the rival faction. The presence of a strong police force ensured the matter did not get out of hand.
However, late Saturday night, the two sides once again locked horns. MP Arvind Sawant (Thackeray faction) claimed that a bullet was fired at Prabhadevi and a second time at the Dadar police station. There is no mention of a bullet being fired at Prabhadevi in the FIR.
Sarvankar told mediapersons it was around 12. 15am when he learned that people had turned up to beat Telvane (vibhag pramukh). “The driver was not there so I went along with my son Samadhan. I did call out to Mahesh Sawant. . . we have grown up together… there is no question of threatening anyone. ”
The two groups reached the Dadar police station around 1am to file complaints against each other. At this time, Sarvankar allegedly fired a bullet from his revolver.
Five Sainiks were named along with 25 others in the FIR lodged by Telvane. This was the first FIR to be registered for robbery, unlawful assembly, rioting, insult and criminal intimidation.
On Sunday morning, as news of the arrest of five Thackeray faction Shiv Sainiksspread, party workers, including women, began gathering outside the police station shouting slogans. Sarvankar’s posters and hoardings were torn down and his office was pelted with stones.
The FIR filed by Telavane states, “The incident began on September 9 on the final day of Ganesha immersion at Prabhadevi. We had placed a stall to serve water to the people participating in the procession. The clashes began when Thackeray’sparty worker Mahesh Sawant and others placed similar stalls. At 12 midnight, Sawant had a fight with me. ”
“The matter worsened around 12. 30am when Sawant, along with 25-plus people approached me while I was chatting with my nephew and few others at Prabhadevi. They started assaulting us with bamboo sticks, pelted stones at us, and robbed my gold chains worth Rs 2. 6 lakh,” Telavane said in the FIR.
According to the police, fight broke out at the police station when Telavane, accompanied by Sarvankar and others, reached the police station to lodge a complaint. Sawant, too, reached the police station around 12. 30am on Sunday, and a fight ensued. During the melee, someone fired on the ground. No one was injured.
The FIR was registered after the police checked the CCTV footage, and found an empty cartridge shell in the premise. By evening, all five Shiv Sainiks of the Thackeray faction had been let off.