21 March,2015 07:35 AM IST | | Varun Singh
BJP corporator Dilip Patel allegedly threatened the man who had requested his driver not to park in the members' area; driver even slapped the security guard who tried to stop him
While Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis categorically said he does not endorse VIP culture after a function he was attending at the National Sports Club of India in Worli caused traffic nightmares, the message does not seem to have reached his partymen.
Mayur Merchant has registered a complaint after BJP corporator Dilip Patel allegedly abused and threatened him on March 11
For, at the same venue, a corporator from his party driven by his sense of entitlement allegedly abused and issued death threats to a member when the latter requested him to follow the rules. This, when the corporator is not even a member of the club and had gone there as a guest of a member.
The incident occurred on March 11, as per a complaint email to NSCI by club member Mayur Merchant. In the complaint, Merchant wrote that he noticed a heated discussion going on between the security guards and a driver.
When he went there, the security guards told him that the driver had forcibly entered the members' parking area and hogged a parking spot. As per the club's rules, drivers are not allowed to park in this area. The driver had allegedly slapped a security guard, Rajesh Bharti, when Bharti tried to stop him from parking the car.
The vehicle didn't have the NSCI sticker and the driver, as per Merchant's email, told him his employer was not even a member of the club. When Merchant tried reasoning with the driver, he called his boss, who was sitting in the Royal Imperial Lounge inside the club premises.
âAbove you all'
The boss turned out to be Dilip Patel, BJP corporator from Juhu, who arrived on the scene with two other men and allegedly started throwing his weight around.
When Merchant told Patel that his driver was at fault, the corporator screamed at the member and asked him, "Tu kaun hai (Who are you)?" Merchant replied he was a member and that his driver, who had broken the rules, was at fault.
Merchant's complaint said Patel closed in on him and said, "Main nagarsevak hoon. Main kuch bhi kar sakta hoon. Main tumhare club aur members se bhi upar hoon (I am a corporator. I can do anything. I am above all you members and this club itself)."
The member still tried to reason with the belligerent man and told him the guards were just doing their duty. Patel then resorted to death threats and allegedly said, "Main tujhe yahin sula dunga. Abhi 100 aadmi log ko bulata hoon tujhe maarne ke liye (I'll ensure you lie flat on the ground. I'll call a hundred men to thrash you."
An abusive Patel continued his tirade, "Sab ko Mumbai ke bahar bhej dunga (I'll kick you out of Mumbai)" and "Tujhe yahin zinda gaadh dunga (I will bury you alive right here), the corporator allegedly said." Merchant decided not to engage with Patel and, instead, lodged a complaint with the club authorities.
"I have written a mail to the the club committee and expect that the rules will be followed and action will be taken. I do not wish to say anything beyond this," Merchant said, when asked about the issue. Rakesh Malhotra, secretary of the NSCI, confirmed that they had received the complaint.
"It was discussed in our committee meeting and we have decided we will call both the parties, hear them out, and then decide upon the course of action," he said.
