Opposition seeks arrest of BJYM ex-chief for ‘molestation’

Opposition members of the state Legislative Council created a ruckus and demanded that BJP Mumbai Yuva Morcha president Ganesh Pandey should be arrested over allegations of molesting a woman member of the party. Their vociferous demands forced council chairman Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar to direct chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to make a statement in the House on this issue.

The chairman has also asked the state government to rope in senior IPS officer Rashmi Shukla to record ‘in camera’ statement of the victim in this case.

The issue was raised in the council by Congress MLC Rashmi Chaudhari who said that though Pandey has been expelled by the BJP, no complaint has been registered against him so far. While molesting the woman member, he used derogatory words, which is an insult to all women from Maharashtra, she added.

Supporting her, Shiv Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe said that some vicious, obscene messages have been posted on the social website account of the victim, due to which she has also been socially vilified.

Leader of Opposition Dhananjay Munde (NCP) alleged that the police tried to threaten the NCP women activists, who had gone to register a complaint in this case at the Bandra police station.

Raising slogans, Opposition members said they would not allow the House to conduct proceedings till Pandey was arrested. As the uproar continued, the House was adjourned three times.

Mr Naik-Nimbalkar told legislators though he could not ask the state government to register a case in the matter, he had asked Ms Shukla to record the victim’s statement ‘in camera.’ “The CM should make a statement in the house by Friday after holding a detailed inquiry,” he said.

The woman, a member of BJP’s youth wing, had complained to party’s city unit chief Ashish Shelar that Pandey had allegedly molested her by asking her obscene questions and passing lewd remarks.