Kalyan BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad, held for shooting Shinde Sena leader, now booked under SC/ST Act

BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad booked for shooting Shiv Sena leader Mahesh Gaikwad, sparking political controversy in Maharashtra.

The Thane Police have booked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ganpat Gaikwad, accused of shooting and injuring Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) leader Mahesh Gaikwad inside a police station in Ulhasnagar, under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, said authorities on February 4.

Mr. Ganpat Gaikwad, a three-time legislator from the Kalyan East constituency, had pumped six bullets into Kalyan Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) leader Mr. Mahesh Gaikwad while injuring the latter’s associate, Rahul Patil, late Friday night over an apparent case of land dispute.

According to the Hill Line Police, they have now booked the MLA, along with seven others, based on a complaint filed by a resident of Dwarli village on Saturday under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

As per the complainant, she was subjected to caste-based abuse by Mr. Ganpat Gaikwad and the others on January 31, said the police.

“A probe into the complaint of the woman, who is a land owner, is underway,” the station house officer of Hill Line police station said.

Despite being part of the ruling parties which constitute the Eknath Shinde-led ‘Mahayuti’ government, the fierce political and personal rivalry between Mr. Ganpat Gaikwad and Mr. Mahesh Gaikwad was well-known throughout Kalyan and the Thane region.

Both leaders never pulled punches during their verbal slanging matches in the past.