Nashik BJP president held for instigating riots in Malegaon

NASHIK, AUG 24: The Nashik district president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Suresh Nikam, was arrested on Friday in Malegaon for riot...

NASHIK, AUG 24: The Nashik district president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Suresh Nikam, was arrested on Friday in Malegaon for rioting.Nikam and his supporters had disrupted a meeting called by his party rival Prahlad Sharma to discuss the problems arising out of the prolonged dry spell in Malegaon and Nashik district.

Nikam and his supporters had assaulted Sharma’s supporters, as the former had asked BJP men to boycott the meeting.

The meeting had to be adjourned twice as microphones were snatched from the hands of speakers. Those who resisted, were assaulted.

The Chhavni police station (Malegaon) had registered an offence against Nikam and seven others. They were arrested and later released on bail.Nikam and Sharma, who is the former president of Malegaon City unit of the BJP, have been at loggerhead. Sharma had been fielded by the BJP for the state assembly polls in 1990 and 1995. He was defeated on both the occasions by JD’s Nihal Ahmed.