BJP MLA Arrested for Shooting at Shiv Sena Leader in Maharashtra Police Station

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ganpat Gaikwad was arrested on Saturday for allegedly shooting and injuring a leader of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena inside a police station in Maharashtra’s Thane district.

According to Additional Commissioner of Police Dattatrya Shinde, Ganpat Gaikwad fired at Mahesh Gaikwad, the Shiv Sena chief of Kalyan, within the chamber of the senior inspector of Hill Line police station in Ulhasnagar on Friday night.

Ganpat Gaikwad, along with two others, has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections, including 307 (attempt to murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy), as reported by PTI.

Ganpat Gaikwad is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member representing the Kalyan East constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. He has emerged victorious in this constituency three times consecutively, first as an independent candidate in 2009 and 2014, and later securing a BJP ticket in 2019, according to his 2019 assembly election affidavit. However, the affidavit also reveals that Ganpat Gaikwad faces 18 pending criminal cases.

In August, an altercation had taken place between supporters of the Shinde faction and the BJP, leading Ganpat Gaikwad to challenge Mahesh Gaikwad, the Shiv Sena chief of Kalyan, to a duel in Kalyan East. However, the Kolsewadi police intervened and prevented any potential violence.

During an interview with a news channel, Ganpat Gaikwad claimed responsibility for the shooting, stating, ‘Yes, I shot him myself. I have no regrets. If my son is being beaten in front of the police inside the police station, what will I do?’ He alleged that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is ‘trying to create a kingdom of criminals in Maharashtra,’ and criticized him for making a person like himself a criminal today.

The injured Mahesh Gaikwad was immediately taken to a local hospital and later shifted to a private medical facility in Thane, where he underwent a successful surgery, confirmed Gopal Landge, Kalyan in-charge of Shiv Sena.