Thane BJP MLA firing case: Truth will come out, says Shrikant Shinde

A CCTV footage grab of the incident. Pic/Navneet Barate

Maharashtra's Kalyan Lok Sabha MP Shrikant Shinde, who is also Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's son, on Saturday said that the CCTV footage of the firing on two of his Shiv Sena colleagues allegedly by a BJP MLA was in the public domain and asserted the truth will come out, reported the PTI.

Kalyan BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad opened fire on Mahesh Gaikwad, the Shiv Sena chief of Kalyan, inside Hill Line police station at Ulhasnagar in Thane district on Friday night, Additional Commissioner of Police Dattatrya Shinde told the media.

IN PHOTOS: BJP MLA shoots Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader inside police station in Ulhasnagar

11 months agoPHOTO GALLERY

"Mahesh Gaikwad and Rahul Patil were fired upon last night. They were shifted to Jupiter Hospital. Six bullets were removed from Mahesh Gaikwad following a six hour surgery. He was shifted to the ICU at 6:30 am and his condition is serious," MP Shrikant Shinde told reporters after the CM visited the hospital.

Two bullets were removed from Rahul Patil and he too is under observation in the ICU, the Kalyan MP added.

"The CCTV footage from the police station is now in the public domain and the truth will come out. A probe is on and we expect the guilty to be punished," he said.

The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are ruling allies, though the two parties have often engaged in one-upmanship in Thane district, which is the stronghold of the CM.

MLA Ganpat Gaikwad, before being arrested on charges of attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy, had told a TV channel that CM Shinde was encouraging criminals while his MP son was taking credit for works done by others.

Meanwhile, the opposition in Maharashtra on Saturday demanded Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's resignation after a Thane BJP MLA shot and injured a Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader over a land dispute in Thane district. BJP and Shinde-led Sena are ruling partners in the state, reported the PTI.

According to the PTI, the Congress claimed that the incident pointed to a law and order 'breakdown' in the state, while the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) said CM Shinde was 'responsible' for it.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar termed it worrisome and said there is a limit to the "misuse" of power, as per the PTI.

Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis told the media that he has ordered a high-level probe into the firing incident, while his peer Ajit Pawar said it was wrong for elected representatives to take the law into their own hands.

(with PTI inputs)