’He didn’t give up without a chase’

Sena-BJP candidate Ajay Bhosale, who was shot at yesterday, had asked his friend, who took a bullet, to follow the gunmen

'He didn't give up without a chase'

Sena-BJP candidate Ajay Bhosale, who was shot at yesterday, had asked his friend, who took a bullet, to follow the gunmen

Shiv Sena-BJP Assembly candidate from Wadgaon-Sheri, Ajay Bhosale, didn't get the shakes till his friend took a bullet meant for him. Until then he was determined to chase down the gunmen who had taken a shot at him.

Bhosale was attacked between 10.30 am and 10.45 am yesterday when he was heading from Mirtramandal's Tuljabhavani Mata temple at Nanapeth to his rally in Anand Nagar near Wadgaon-Sheri. The incident took place near German bakery at Koregaon Park. The first bullet missed him, but the second one hit his friend Shakil Yusuf Sayyad (34), who was driving the car.

Bhosale's secretary Sudhir Padmakar Dhavale, who was also in the car at the time of the attack, said, "The gunmen approached the car on a black bike (MH14 2447). The pillion rider fired the first shot through the window of the passenger seat, where Bhosale was sitting." Dhavale said the gunman missed the first since the Scorpio had moved ahead.

"It was the first shot that alerted us to the gunmen. I immediately looked outside and noticed the pillion rider holding a black laptop bag and a revolver. The revolver had a shining steel body. The gunman was clad in a white and grey checked shirt and jeans," he added.

Said Bhosale, "I asked Shakil to chase the biker and what followed was a wild 15-minute chase, before the pillion rider fired again. This time the bullet hit the windscreen and hit Shakil's chest on the right side." Bhosale immediately moved Shakil to the back seat and drove him off to Ruby Hospital on Mangaldas Road, where he was operated on (see How is Shakil?).

Fear factor
It was then that the fear hit Bhosale. The visibly shaken candidate said, "I suspect my political opponent, NCP candidate Bapu Pathare, and his nephew Santosh Bhagre are behind this plot. They must be unnerved with the immense support I have been getting for last 15 days of campaigning."

DCP Satish Khandare told MiD DAY, "We have informed the Election Commission about this incident and are considering all the possibilities like political enmity, old rivalry or any business rivalry. We have prepared a sketch of the gunman and we have same leads about the bike the gunmen were riding. We are sure that we will arrest them soon."

A complaint has been registered against two unidentified person under IPC 307 for attempt to murder and for illegal possession of weapon.