18 February,2017 02:47 PM IST | | Santosh Wagh
A BJP candidate’s alleged poll gimmick fell flat when the Antop Hill Police registered a case against him for abusing cops and assembling a large number of people for an unlawful purpose
The students of Pune's Balaji Institute had gathered near Punjabi Colony to interact with slum dwellers
A BJP candidate's alleged poll gimmick fell flat when the Antop Hill Police registered a case against him for abusing cops and assembling a large number of people for an unlawful purpose. The state election commission has also registered a non-cognizable offence (NC) against Sion-Koliwada MLA Captain Tamil Selvan's brother Murgandhan Selvan, for allegedly promising houses to slum dwellers under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
Want houses? Vote for BJP
According to police, on Wednesday they got a call from a Punjabi Colony resident saying that Shiv Sena candidate Gajanan Patil from ward number 176 and MNS candidate Sanjay Bhogale were having a verbal tiff with Murgandhan. The dispute was over a claim that BJP had brought a number of students and a professor from Balaji Institute in Pune to campaign for them. The students were allegedly asking the slum dwellers to vote for BJP if they wanted houses under PMAY. They were also being made to fill up forms.
Force on cops
When assistant police inspector Prakash Thakur and sub-inspector Mohite reached the spot, both Patil and Bhogale informed them about the incident. The cops then asked professor VT Vignesh and the students to sit in the police van. However, Murgandhan opposed this and pushed the cops to get Vignesh out of the van. He even called up a number of people, who gathered at the spot, forcing the police to let go of the professor and students.
Speaking to mid-day, senior police inspector of Antop Hill police station Nasir Shaikh said, "We have registered a case against Murgandhan and his supporters under sections 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 141 (unlawful assembly) of IPC."
Just a survey
Commenting on the issue, Murgandhan said, "The students were conducting a survey related to the changes that people want after the elections. The entire process had nothing to do with PMAY. I have never used such things as a poll gimmick."
