Shiv Sena MLA escapes unhurt in sword attack in Trombay
The attackers were angry at Kate's agitation to stop rubble dumping at metro site.
Mumbai: Shiv Sena Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Anushakti Nagar area, Tukaram Kate, was attacked late on Friday night outside a Navratri pandal in Maharashtra Nagar area in Trombay by half a dozen people armed with swords, police said. The attackers allegedly waited for him to come out of the pandal following which they expressed their anger over Mr Kate’s agitation to stop rubble dumping at metro site and launched an attack with swords.
The incident unfolded in few minutes after which the attackers fled before the onlookers could react. The Trombay police said that Mr Kate was accompanied by party workers, one of whom sustained minor injuries during the attack. He was taken to a nearby hospital for medication and discharged soon after.
The police are now on the lookout for the attackers, who seem to be men with the contract of filling up the rubble at the metro site in Mankhurd. The police are looking deeper into the agitation conducted by Mr Kate and have sought details of the rubble dumping contract from the metro authorities. “We have some CCTV footage of the spot that we are scanning to identify the accused. Witness accounts are also being recorded to get leads in the investigation,” said Prakash Salvi, senior inspector of Trombay police station.
The police said that despite court orders to stop movement of trucks to fill rubble at night, the activity continues blatantly. The Sena launched an agitation to stop dumping, which was headed by Mr Kate. Party workers held up trucks stopping them from dumping rubble at the metro construction site. There was resistance following the agitation and police are also probing if a similar attempt was made on him in the past. Officials are yet to ascertain how many of the attackers were armed with swords. They are suspected to have fled in a car following the incident.
The Trombay police has registered a case of attempt to murder as per section 307, rioting as per section 146 and 34 (acts of common intention) of the Indian Penal Cod.