Twin murder: Shiv Sena calls for Kardile's expulsion

MUMBAI: A delegation of Shiv Sena ministers met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday demanding the expulsion from the party of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Shivajirao Kardile in connection with the murder of two Sena workers in Ahmednagar on Saturday.

The chief minister, however, declined the request, sources in the BJP said. The party is unlikely to take any action against Kardile, who is a senior MLA. The party will not expel him until he is proven guilty, the sources said.

Two motorcycle-borne assailants shot dead Sanjay Kotkar (35) and Vasant Thube (40) in Shahunagar area of Kedgaon in Ahmednagar on Saturday, hours after a Congress candidate was declared elected in a civic by-election.

Mr Kardile, who represents the Rahuri constituency in the Assembly, was arrested on Monday for allegedly vandalising the office of the Ahmednagar superintendent of police on Saturday along with supporters after was detention of his son-in-law and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator Sangram Jagtap, in the double murder case.

Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam, a member of the delegation, said that the Ahmednagar incident would only lead to more trouble for the alliance between the two parties ahead of the 2019 general election. He reiterated that the Sena would face the elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assembly on its own.

Ahmednagar police has filed a conspiracy case against Mr Kardile, Mr Jagtap and some others for allegedly hatching a criminal conspiracy to kill the two Sena leaders, apparently over the political rivalry.

Apart from Kadam, the Sena delegation included Industries Minister Subhash Desai, transport minister Diwakar Raote, public undertakings minister Eknath Shinde and health minister Deepak Sawant.

“We asked the chief minister to sack Kardile  for his alleged involvement in the double murder of Sena activists. We also demanded death penalty for the culprits,” Mr Kadam said after meeting the chief minister at his office in Mantralaya. Jagtap’s father and NCP member of the legislative council, Arun Jagtap, who was also booked in connection with the killings, is on the run.