A former corporator has alleged that Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 1) Vivek Pansare is pressuring him to join Eknath Shinde’s faction, and also threatened to extern him from the city if he didn’t toe the line. MK Madhavi made these claims in a press conference on Saturday, adding that he was also asked to cough up Rs 10 lakh by the officer. DCP Pansare has refuted the claims and said these were attempts to “stop police action against him”.

Madhavi has remained a controversial political leader of Shiv Sena in Navi Mumbai. After the party split, he and his wife ex-corporator Vinaya Madhavi remained with the Uddhav Thackrey-led faction. Three weeks ago, he was booked for rioting and assaulting BJP party workers during Ganesh visarjan. The Rabale police is investigating the matter.