BJP MLA arrested for involvement in killing of 2 Shiv Sena members

Ahmednagar: The police in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district on Monday arrested a BJP lawmaker for his alleged role in the killing of two local Shiv Sena leaders.

The police have named three members of the legislative assembly and legislative council in two First Information Reports (FIRs).

According to a report in NDTV, while BJP MLA Shivaji Kardile was arrested Monday morning, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator Sangram Jagtap was arrested earlier on Sunday.

However, the third accused, Arun Jagtap who is the NCP Member of Legislative Council, is still evading arrest.

Also Read: NCP MLA among 4 held for Sena leaders’ murder

The murders took place on Saturday evening, hours after the result of a civic bypoll in Ahmednagar was announced. Two motorcycle-borne assailants shot dead Shiv Sena's city vice-president, Sanjay Kotkar (35) and Vasant Thube (40), a party worker, in Shahunagar area of Kedgaon.

According to a local police official, Sangram Kotkar, the son of deceased Sanjay Kotkar, alleged that all three MLAs had threatened his father with dire consequences for helping a Shiv Sena candidate in the recently concluded Ahmednagar Municipal Corporation bypolls.

According to police, all the three MLAs are relatives.

"It is believed that the MLAs were against any political party fielding a candidate (in the bypolls) against their relative Vishal Kotkar, who is a member of the Congress," the official said

Congress' Vishal Kotkar, also an accused, had defeated Shiv Sena's Vijay Pathare by 454 votes, with local Sena leaders claiming that the killings were related to the widespread support their party had garnered in the bypoll.

Shiv Sena leaders protested after the murders. Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam, Transport Minister Diwakar Raote and MoS Home Deepak Kesarkar visited Ahmednagar following the incident.

(With PTI inputs)