Stone pelting on Sena candidates in Pune: Won't get scared by such cowardly politics, says Shinde
Pune (PTI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday decried the alleged incident of stone pelting on Shiv Sena candidates campaigning for the January 15 Pune civic polls and said he and his workers are not scared of such cowardly politics.
Shinde's party colleague Pramod Nana Bhangire had alleged that stones were thrown at him and Sarika Pawar, both candidates from ward number 41, in Kale Padal in Hadapsar late Wednesday evening. Pawar sustained a minor injury in the incident, while the windscreen of their car was damaged, Bhangire had claimed.
Addressing a rally in Katraj here, Shinde, mentioning the incident, said, "I warn the opposition parties to not indulge in such cowardly acts. Shiv Sainiks will not get scared. We are Balasaheb Thackeray's sainiks. The Shiv Sena does not leave its workers to fend for themselves."
Shinde also mentioned an incident in Mumbai, where BJP workers allegedly used the '50 khokhe' (Rs 50 crore) slogan to target the Shiv Sena. The slogan was coined by the Uddhav Thackeray faction following the split in the Bal Thackeray-founded party in June 2022.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has routinely alleged that Shinde and his rebels got Rs 50 crore each to break the party.
Underplaying the slogan episode, Shinde said his party and the BJP are contesting the Mumbai civic polls jointly and putting up a strong united fight.
Shinde exuded confidence that the Shiv Sena will show its might in Pune.
"Do not take Shiv Sena lightly just because it is contesting polls on its own. Shiv Sena runs on the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray. It is Hindutva ideology," he added.
The BJP and Shiv Sena are fighting polls in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad separately, while Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party has tied up with Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).
Speaking at the rally, Shinde took a swipe at former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.
"Some people consider themselves as owners but the real owners are citizens. It is the people who decide who to take up and who to bring down," he said.
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Naval information leak case: Fourth accused held
Udupi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Udupi police have arrested another accused in a case involving the alleged transmission of confidential information related to the Indian Navy to Pakistan, taking the total number of arrests to four, officials said on Thursday.
The arrested accused has been identified as Alif Islam (21), a native of West Bengal, who was presently residing at Marayur village in Idukki district of Kerala, they said.
He was apprehended in connection with the alleged leak of a confidential list containing identification numbers of Indian naval vessels, police said.
According to investigators, the accused are suspected to have shared sensitive information through WhatsApp and Facebook with contacts in Pakistan without authorisation.
The case was registered at Malpe police station in 2025 following a complaint regarding the alleged illegal transmission of naval-related data, officials said.
Police said the investigation pertains to the alleged sharing of a classified list of ship numbers linked to the Indian Navy.
In November 2025, two accused -- Rohit and Santri from Uttar Pradesh -- were taken into custody in connection with the same case. Later, Hirendra Kumar from Gujarat was arrested in December 2025.
With the latest arrest, the number of persons held in the case has risen to four.
Police said one more accused is yet to be apprehended. The operator of the Facebook page allegedly used to transmit the information also remains at large.
Investigators suspect that Islam may be a Bangladeshi national, and efforts are on to verify his citizenship and other credentials.
Further investigation is under way, police added.
