Chandrapur, Jan 30 (PTI) Police have said that they have booked half a dozen persons and arrested one of them after masked men allegedly attempted to abduct Congress corporators from Chandrapur in Maharashtra from a bus when they were on their way to Nagpur.
A group of persons intercepted the bus, in which newly-elected corporators of the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation (CMC) were travelling, on Thursday and allegedly attempted to abduct those from the Congress near the Samriddhi Expressway in Wardha district adjoining Nagpur, police said However, the timely arrival of party supporters and police intervention brought the situation under control, said a senior corporator, who was travelling in the bus.
According to party sources, the corporators loyal to Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar (CLP), numbering 17 to 18, were heading towards Nagpur, where their faction was to officially register at the Divisional Commissioner’s office after civic polls.
Around 5.45 pm near the Yelakeli toll plaza, about 20 unidentified persons with their faces covered, who arrived in four to six vehicles, intercepted the bus. They allegedly attempted to forcibly remove the Congress corporators from the bus, police said, quoting a complaint filed by party corporator Rajesh Adoor, who was also travelling.
Meanwhile, some Congress activists reached the scene, leading to a scuffle and a tense standoff between the two groups.
Upon receiving information, a team from the Sawangi police station rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. One of the alleged abductors, Kanain Siddiqui, a resident of Nagpur, was caught by party workers and later arrested by police.
He and five others, all identified, were booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) based on Adoor’s complaint, according to the police. Besides them, several other unidentified persons were also booked in connection with the incident.
The incident occurred amidst the ongoing power struggle within the Congress, the single largest party in the new House, over the mayor’s post following the January 15 CMC elections. Rival factions led by Wadettiwar and Congress MP Pratibha Dhanorkar are at loggerheads over the post.
Elections to pick the Chandrapur mayor and deputy mayor are scheduled on February 10.
In the 66-member CMC, the Congress has won 27 seats, less than the majority mark of 34, while the BJP bagged 23. The Shiv Sena (UBT) got six seats. PTI COR RSY NR
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