BJP MLA held for murders of Shiv Sena leaders

Agencies 
April 10, 2018

Pune: The police in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar on Monday, April 9, arrested Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Shivaji Kardile in connection with the murders of Shiv Sena leaders Sanjay Kotkar and Vasant Thube on Saturday.

However, Mr. Kardile, MLA from Ahmednagar’s Rahuri constituency, denied his arrest and said he “voluntarily gave himself up” at the Bhingar police station this morning.

A press note issued by the Ahmednagar police on Sunday had declared that the BJP MLA, along with 53 others connected to the crime and vandalism at the Ahmednagar Superintendent of Police's office, was absconding.

On Sunday, the police booked Mr. Kardile, along with NCP MLC Arun Jagtap (Sangram Jagtap’s father) and 30 others for allegedly hatching a conspiracy and executing the killings.

The BJP MLA refuted all allegations against him. “The police are investigating the crime and the culprits will be brought to justice. I have no relation with it. Since Saturday, the opposition [read Shiv Sena] is besmirching some members of my family and me by linking our names with the murders. Seeing this, I voluntary decided to appear before the police and cooperate with the probe,” Mr. Kardile told a local television channel.

The second high-profile arrest in the case comes a day after Mr. Kardile’s son-in-law, National Congress Party (NCP) legislator Sangram Jagtap, and four others were taken into police custody in connection with the murders.

Mr. Jagtap was taken into police custody in the wee hours of Sunday. Congress candidate Vishal Kotkar, who won the Kedgaon bypoll to the Ahmednagar civic body; his father Balasaheb Kotkar; Sandeep Gunjal and Bhanudas Kotkar were also booked for their alleged roles in the double murder.

Soon after Mr. Jagtap was arrested, Mr. Kardile, along with a mob of over 200 persons allegedly vandalised the office of the Superintendent of Police, Ahmednagar. However, Mr. Kardile denied allegations, stating that events had been “misinterpreted”.

“After Sangram [Jagtap] was arrested, a mob had gathered at the SP’s office. I was returning from a function and decided to stop en route and pacify the mob. I urged the crowd to show restraint,” he said, adding he was ready to face any inquiry. The aftermath of the Kedgaon bypoll coupled with years of political rivalry are said to be the broad reasons for the murders of the two Sena leaders, who were first shot at and then attacked with sharp weapons.

The murders have led to the suspension of police inspector Abhay Parmar of Ahmednagar’s Kotwali police station Minister of State for Home, Deepak Kesarkar. He has been replaced by PI Ramesh Ratnaparkhi.

Mr. Parmar’s suspension was prompted by Shiv Sena’s allegations about the allegedly controversial role of the police authorities in Kedgaon in the crime.

All three families — the Kardiles, the Jagtaps and the Kotkars — are related to each other by marriage and virtually dominate Ahmednagar politics, especially at the taluka and civic body levels.

Both Mr. Kardile and Congress leader Bhanudas Kotkar have a history of crime, their names figuring prominently in the murder of lottery-ticket businessman Ashok Lande in 2008. The incident has snowballed into a political slug-fest, with the Sena and the NCP trading charges.

On Sunday, senior Shiv Sena leader and Minister Ramdas Kadam, alleged that the murders were “a premeditated conspiracy by the BJP, Congress and NCP”. Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar, retaliated by accusing the Sena of attempting to tarnish his party’s reputation by fabricating charges.

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News Network
November 18,2024

Advisors to US President-elect Donald Trump have instructed his allies and associates to refrain from using the inflammatory language they previously employed when discussing issues related to migrants and the deportation of asylum seekers, in a bid to avoid “looking like Nazis.”

US media reports said that Trump’s associates had been asked to stop using the word “camps” to describe potential facilities that would be used to accommodate migrants rounded up in deportation operations across the country.

The reports said the US president-elect’s allies had been ordered to stave off such charged terms as they would bring to mind “Nazis,” and be used against Trump.

“I have received some guidance to avoid terms, like ‘camps,’ that can be twisted and used against the president, yes,” one Trump ally told American monthly magazine Rolling Stone.

“Apparently, some people think it makes us look like Nazis.”

The presidential advisers also cautioned surrogates and allies to keep racist terms, which have dogged Trump’s campaign, out of their remarks.

They said with Trump’s heated rhetoric that used to compare undocumented immigrants to “animals” and his slight that they are “poisoning the blood of our country,” detractors did not need to reach too far to find parallels to Nazi Germany.

Stephen Miller, who Trump tapped to be his deputy chief of staff of policy, specifically used the word “camps” to describe holding facilities that he hoped the military could put together for immigrants.

Tom Homan, who served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is chosen by Trump to be in charge of the US borders, was no stranger to such language.

“It’s not gonna be a mass sweep of neighborhoods,” he said in an interview earlier this week. “It’s not gonna be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous.”

Becoming a little more forthright about the new government’s aggressive deportation plans, Homan likened the early days of the Trump administration to the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“I got three words for them – shock and awe,” he said. “You’re going to see us take this country back.”

Trump made immigration a central element of his 2024 presidential campaign but unlike his first run, which was mainly focused on building a border wall, he has shifted his attention to interior enforcement and the removal of undocumented immigrants already in the United States.

People close to the US president and his aides are laying the groundwork for expanding detention facilities to fulfill his mass deportation campaign promise.

The businessman-turned-politician deported more than 1.5 million people during his first term.

The figure do not include the millions of people turned away at the border under a Covid-era policy enacted by Trump and used during most of Biden’s term.

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News Network
November 15,2024

amitshah.jpg

Union minister Amit Shah on Friday, November 15, said PM Narendra Modi will amend the Waqf Act despite opposition from leaders like Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar.

"Modi ji wants to change the Waqf Board law, but Uddhav ji, Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule are opposing it," Shah said, addressing a rally at Umarkhed in Maharashtra's Yavatmal district.

"Uddhav ji, listen carefully, you all can protest as much as you want, but Modi ji will amend the Waqf Act," he said. Shah said there are two camps in the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, one of 'Pandavas' represented by the BJP-led Mahayuti and the other of 'Kauravas' represented by Maha Vikas Aghadi.

"Uddhav Thackeray claims that his Shiv Sena is the real one. Can the real Shiv Sena go against renaming Aurangabad to Sambhajinagar? Can the real Shiv Sena go against renaming Ahmednagar to Ahilyanagar? The real Shiv Sena stands with the BJP," Shah said.

"Rahul Baba used to say that his government would credit money in the accounts of the people instantly. You were unable to fulfil your promises in Himachal, Karnataka, and Telangana," he said.

Shah said the Mahayuti alliance has promised that women will get Rs 2,100 per month under the Ladki Bahin Yojana. "Kashmir is an integral part of India and no power in the world can snatch it away from us," Shah said.

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News Network
November 25,2024

Udupi: Six junior artists from the prequel of Kannada blockbuster film ‘Kantara’ were injured, when the bus they were travelling in overturned in the district, police said on Monday.

According to police, the accident occurred near Jadkal on Sunday night when the mini-bus carrying the crew of the film overturned.

“The incident happened while they were returning to Kollur after completing the shoot at Mudoor in Jadkal. The mini-bus was carrying 20 junior artistes when it met with the accident,” a police officer said.

The injured were rushed to hospitals in Jadkal and Kundapur for treatment, they said.

The Kollur police are investigating the matter.

"The news making rounds is completely false. The Kantara: Chapter 1 team began shooting at 06:00 AM today, and everything is proceeding as normal. A minor accident occurred 20 kilometres away from the shooting location, involving a local bus carrying some members of the Kantara team. However, no injuries were reported," a source close to the production said.

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