Assault on retired Navy man: Six alleged Shiv Sainiks get bail
Mumbai: Six suspected Shiv Sena workers were granted bail on Saturday in a case of assaulting a retired Navy officer for allegedly forwarding a cartoon of the party president and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on social media, evoking allegations of political pressure from the BJP.
Denying any political interference, Joint commissioner of police (law and order) Vishwas Nangre Patil said the bail was granted to the accused in view of the COVID-19 situation.
The six persons were arrested after local BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar posted a video of the Friday's assault on the retired officer, Madan Sharma (62), on Twitter. A complaint was filed against Sena workers at Kandivali police station.
Leader of opposition in the state Legislative council Pravin Darekar, Bhatkhalkar and the victim's family members staged an agitation outside the ACP's office in Kandivali.
They demanded that the accused be booked under sections 326 (causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons and means), and 452 and 450 (house-trespassing) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which are non-bailable.
Nangre Patil, who visited the site of the protest, told the protesters the accused were booked under section 325 of the IPC for causing grievous hurt and rioting sections, which was a bailable offence.
"Six persons arrested yesterday under section 325 of the IPC. They were granted bail in view of the COVID-19 situation. There is no political pressure. I don't think section 326 can be invoked since that amounts to the use of sharp weapons. We will see the legal scrutiny of slapping trespassing clauses against them," the police officer said.
The Shiv Sena heads the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) dispensation, also comprising the NCP and Congress.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
17 killed as jeep plunges into gorge in Nepal
Kathmandu (PTI): At least 17 people were killed Thursday when a jeep skidded off a hilly road and plunged about 700 metres into a gorge in Nepal's Rolpa district, police said.
The accident occurred in the Jaljala area of Thawang rural municipality when the vehicle slipped on a muddy stretch amid rain and fell down the hillside, they said.
The private jeep was hired by locals travelling to attend the Baisakh Purnima festival on Friday at Jaljala, according to police inspector Sunil Thapa Nepali, information officer at the District Police Office, Rolpa.
Rescue operations are hampered by heavy rain in the area, police said, adding that the exact number of passengers in the vehicle at the time of the accident is not yet known.
