KOLHAPUR, March 17: Former corporator Sambhaji Basugade and 13 of his followers were arrested today for causing commotion in Dudhali, Uttareshwar and Gol Circle areas of the city by resorting to stone-pelting, damaging vehicles and houses of residents including those of deputy mayor Jaysingh Raikar and corporator Dhanaji Amte, last night.The city meanwhile reacted sharply to last night's clash dubbed as a fallout of past enmity between Basugade and Amte.The KMC general body meeting today adjourned protests against the attacks on the deputy mayor and a sitting member by one of its former member.Basugade and others were later remanded to police custody till March 30, Laxmipuri police said.In what could be dubbed as an ugly display of strength over establishing supremacy in a particular area of the city, a group of nearly 40-50 youth, most of them armed with swords, wooden sticks, sodawater bottles spread terror in Dudhali and Gol Circle areas of the city.According to the police, a band of hooligans launched their offensive at about 9 p.m. yesterday. They damaged two autorickshaws, two Fiats and a jeep. The group also resorted to stone-pelting on some houses including the houses of corporator Amte and the deputy mayor.A trivial fight involving Sagar Choughule, a distant relative of former corporator Basugade was stated to have lead to the melee. Chougule who was chased with four swords-wielding youths had sought refuge in Basugade's house. The youth later had threatened to kill him. The incident at night was in retaliation to this incident, claim police.However, according to sources, rivalry between sitting corporator Amte and the former corporator was responsible for the clash yesterday night. Both are residents of the same ward. Amte got elected after defeating Basugade in the last KMC elections, sources said.It was this rivalry over supremacy in the ward that had an ugly manifestation yesterday, sources felt. Immediately after the incident, corportor Amte took out a morcha to Lakshmipuri police station demanding Basugade's arrest.Inspector in-charge of Laxmipuri police station Subhash Jadhav arrested Basugade and 13 of his accomplices this morning. All were produced before chief judicial magistrate V K Shewale who remanded them in police custody till March 30.Earlier, at the general body meeting mayor Kanchan Kavale said she would submit a memorandum in this regard to guardian minister Ramdas Kadam and Chief Minister Narayan Rane.
