BJP MLA shoots Shinde Sena leader; row ensues

The Mumbai police have arrested a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator for shooting a leader of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena inside a police station over a land dispute on Friday night, officers familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

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Ganpat Gaikwad, the accused MLA from Kalyan, was remanded to police custody till February 14. Mahesh Gaikwad, the Shiv Sena chief from the area, who received multiple gunshot wounds was undergoing treatment at a private hospital, where his condition was stable, people aware of the matter said.

According to the police, Mahesh, along with his associates, and Ganpat's son Vaibhav Gaikwad arrived at the Hill Line police station in Ulhasnagar around 9.30pm on Friday to lodge a complaint against each other over a land dispute. Minutes later, the MLA also reached the police station, officers said.

In a CCTV footage that has gone viral on social media, Mahesh, his associates -Rahul Patil and Chainu Jadhav-and Ganpat can be seen sitting in the cabin of senior police inspector Anil Jagtap. Ganpat can then be seen taking out a gun and firing six rounds at the three men. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

It was not immediately clear as to how many bullets hit Mahesh. Rahul Patil, who came in between Ganpat and Mahesh during the incident, also suffered minor injuries, police said.

"Mahesh Gaikwad pat Gaikwad had come to the police station to make a complaint when Ganpat fired at Mahesh and his people. Two people have been injured in this.

An investigation is underway," said Sudhakar Pathare, DCP.