Day after Bombay HC rap, Sena minister Bharat Gogawale’s son surrenders in Mahad poll clash case
The Bombay High Court was informed on Friday that all the accused in the Mahad poll clash case, who are from the Shiv Sena, had surrendered before the local police.
Vikas, his cousin Mahesh Gogawale, and other accused were named in cross-FIRs over a clash between Shiv Sena and NCP workers during the Mahad Municipal Council elections in Raigad. (file) A day after the Bombay High Court pulled up the Maharashtra government for the delay in arresting Vikas Gogawale, the son of cabinet minister and Shiv Sena MLA Bharat Gogawale, and other accused in a case related to a violent clash between rival political groups during a civic body election, the court was informed on Friday that the accused had surrendered before the local police.
Vikas, his cousin Mahesh Gogawale, and other accused were named in cross-FIRs over a clash between Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) party workers during the Mahad Municipal Council elections in Raigad district last month.
Advocate General (AG) Milind Sathe, for the state government, informed a single-judge bench of Justice Madhav J Jamdar that all the accused in the FIR registered against people belonging to Shiv Sena have surrendered. Sathe submitted a communication addressed by the assistant police commissioner of Mahad city police to the public prosecutor in that regard.
Meanwhile, Shreeyash Jagtap, son of former NCP MLA Manik Jagtap, who was booked in another FIR and was earlier granted interim protection from arrest, sought to withdraw his pre-arrest bail plea, which the court allowed on Friday.
Justice Jamdar, while passing the order on a plea by Jagtap, noted that on January 16, the high court had expressed that the offence was serious and the applicant was not entitled to anticipatory bail. However, as certain submissions were made regarding the conduct of the police officials, the court had granted him interim protection from arrest.
After Justice Jamdar told the lawyer representing Jagtap that he was not inclined to grant anticipatory bail to his client, the lawyer sought withdrawal of the plea, which the court allowed. “The anticipatory bail application is withdrawn and dismissed as such,” the high court noted.
“Arrest them too (accused from the NCP faction). The only difference is he (Shreeyash Jagtap) is former MLA’s son and this (Vikas) was minister’s son,” the judge orally remarked to state authorities.
On Thursday, Justice Jamdar had expressed concern over an “adversely affected rule of law” and had orally questioned, “The chief minister is so helpless that he can’t do anything?”
“He is a cabinet minister and his son is absconding and police are not able to arrest him. So, this is the position of rule of law in the state of Maharashtra? This is political and the offences are also related to election process. If government wishes, it can arrest anybody within 24 hours,” Justice Jamdar had added.
Thereafter, AG Sathe had informed the bench that the minister would contact his son and “he will surrender by Friday morning”.
What was the case?
Cross-FIRs were registered against party workers from the Shiv Sena and the NCP in the Mahad poll clash case. While one of the FIRs was registered against Vikas Gogawale, his cousin Mahesh and others, the other was against Shreeyash Jagtap, the son of former NCP MLA Manik Jagtap and their supporters.
The NCP alleged that Vikas and Sena supporters approached them on motorcycles, threatened them with dire consequences, and assaulted Shreeyash’s supporter at another polling booth.
However, the Sena faction in their FIR claimed that while returning home after visiting polling centres, one of the NCP workers allegedly threatened to kill them and fired a pistol at the Gogawale cousins. The further claimed that they survived as the pistol misfired, and thereafter the rival supporters clashed with each other.
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