There were 8 of them, all on foot: witnesses

Six men arrested; police scrutinising CCTV footage in the building vicinity.

Black paint was sprayed on the technocrat-turned-columnist for not bowing to Sena’s diktat calling for cancellation of the event over its Pakistan connection.

Two hours before they attacked ORF chairperson Sudheendra Kulkarni, eyewitnesses had spotted at least two men hiding behind parked cars and two pairs keeping guard outside the exit gates of the residential building where the political strategist and aide to Atal Bihari Vajpayee resides. All these men were believed to be Shiv Sena workers, who were arrested late on Monday night..

In what turned out to be a huge embarrassment to the Mumbai Police who failed to show foresight, or anticipate the attack, witnesses have said the men did not even have any vehicle and fled on foot.

Watch Attack On Sudheendra Kulkarni By Shiv Sena Activists: An Analysis

While the Mumbai Police have made a case against six men, witnesses claim there were eight in total, with the remaining two seen loitering in the vicinity since the early hours of the day. Kulkarni resides in a building named Karma Kshetra in Sion.

None of the men attempted to enter the building premises, with two waiting near a garage at the rear gate of the building with their eyes to the floors above. The rest had been keeping a watch opposite D2 wing since 7 am, claimed the witnesses.

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“They were all locals from the area, most of them residing in Sector 3 of Antop Hill. While driving my employer to work, I even waved at one of them. We are all from the same locality,” said an eyewitness. The attackers bunched towards the exit near D2 wing when they finally saw Kulkarni and his daughter leave the lobby of the building.

“It was silent till then and suddenly there were people screaming. These men had cornered the car and tried opening the door. They threatened to break the car’s windowpanes if Kulkarni didn’t step out. I guess Kulkarni obliged to their demands because his daughter was sitting next to him,” said another man who was a witness to the attack.

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“There were four bottles that were opened and a paint was smeared all over Kulkarni. We found two bottles at the spot and have handed it to the police,” said yet another witness.

“He (Kulkarni) leaves for work every day around 8.45 am. Most of us in the building are aware of his timing. I came to work around
7.45 am and saw some familiar faces as they reside around this area and we know them as Sainiks from the Antop Hill Shiv Sena shakha,” said an employee at the building.

The witnesses said that the men didn’t waste much time, and fled through three different lanes. Earlier in the day, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IV) Ashok Dudhe said a case was registered against six unknown persons and the police were scrutinising the CCTV footage of the building that captured the entire incident.

“The six accused have been charged by Antop Hill police station under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 147 (punishment for rioting) 336 (act of endangering personal safety) 504 (criminal intimidation) ,506 (criminal intimidation with threat to be cause death or grievous hurt) under the IPC, along with relevant sections of the Maharashtra (Bombay) Police Act. Investigations are still under way,” said Dudhe.
The Antop Hill Sena Shakha remained shut till late evening, though locals said they usually had at least their shutters and reading room open.

rohit.alok@expressindia.com

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