Anil Deshmukh injured as car is stoned; 'stunt', says BJP

NAGPUR: Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh suffered serious head wounded Monday after his vehicle was attacked with stones and boulders on Katol-Jalalkheda road while returning from a campaign in Narkhed for his son Salil Deshmukh, who is contesting the assembly elections on an NCP (Sharad Pawar) ticket.

Deshmukh was rushed to a local hospital in Katol, considered his bastion, before being shifted to a private facility in Nagpur for further treatment.

Eyewitnesses reported that attackers threw stones at the vehicle while shouting political slogans. A boulder was found on the bonnet and another stone recovered from under the driver's seat, next to where Deshmukh was seated. The windscreen was shattered.

Sources said Deshmukh's security team was trailing him in a separate vehicle and was unable to respond immediately. The attack has sparked tensions in Katol, with the video of a bleeding Deshmukh going viral. Supporters of the former minister gathered at Katol police station, demanding immediate arrest of the attackers.

NCP (Sharad Pawar) MP Supriya Sule condemned the attack on social media. She wrote: "In the past, Maharashtra has never witnessed such attacks during election times, as we value democratic principles. However, in BJP's tenure, law and order in the state, particularly in Nagpur district, has deteriorated, and goons are roaming freely..."

State Congress chief Nana Patole indirectly blamed BJP for the attack. "BJP is getting apprehensive of losing the elections and is resorting to such tactics. However, MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) candidates won't get bogged down by such threats," Patole said.

BJP dismissed the attack as a staged political stunt. "It was a fake attack perpetrated by his supporters to win sympathy as they knew they were staring at a defeat. We condemn such activity to defame BJP workers, who were engaged in booth management," Katol assembly in-charge Avinash Thakre said.


Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google Search