Shiv Sena workers ransack Pune Iffco Tokio office

Mumbai: Alleging that the insurance claims of aggrieved farmers were not being cleared, a group of at least 35 Shiv Sena workers stormed into the office of Iffco Tokio General Insurance in Pune Wednesday. The Sena workers ransacked the office premises, claiming that the farmers who had suffered crop losses were not being compensated.

At around 11am, party activists assembled at the Koregaon Park area in Pune and barged into the office premises. They smashed all the glass cabins in the office and damaged all the computers following which, they fled from the spot. The police reached the spot only after the attackers had decamped.

“The accused group also damaged computers, laptops and other furniture. They sloganeered and demanded issuance of insurance payments to farmers soon,” said a Pune police officer. The police is recording the employees’ statements to ascertain the sequence of events and the exact amount of damage caused by the accused. The police is also scanning the Closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage of the office to identify the attackers. The police has filed a case against unknown persons for trespassing, rioting and criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code. Several police teams have been formed to track down the accused, who are stated to be local Sena operatives.

The party had recently said that at least 50 lakh farmers were awaiting crop insurance. The state government last week approved a special provision of `10,000 cro-re as immediate assistance to farmers affected by unseasonal rains.

Heavy losses have been incurred after flooding due to incessant rains and cyclones in the state’s coastal and other belts.