Daijiworld Media Network - Chandrapur
Chandrapur, Jan 30: Police have booked half a dozen persons and arrested one of them after masked men allegedly attempted to abduct Congress corporators from Chandrapur when they were travelling by bus to Nagpur on Thursday.
According to police, a group of unidentified persons intercepted the bus carrying newly elected corporators of the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation (CMC) near the Samriddhi Expressway in Wardha district, adjoining Nagpur, and allegedly tried to forcibly remove Congress corporators from the vehicle. However, the timely arrival of party supporters and swift police intervention brought the situation under control.
A senior Congress corporator, who was on the bus, said the incident occurred around 5.45 pm near the Yelakeli toll plaza, when around 20 men with their faces covered arrived in four to six vehicles and stopped the bus.
As per party sources, 17 to 18 corporators loyal to Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar were heading to Nagpur to officially register their faction at the Divisional Commissioner’s office following the recent civic polls.
Congress corporator Rajesh Adoor, who lodged the complaint, alleged that the masked men attempted to abduct the corporators. Soon after, Congress activists reached the spot, leading to a scuffle and tense standoff between the two groups.
Police from Sawangi police station rushed to the scene and restored order. One of the alleged abductors, identified as Kanain Siddiqui, a resident of Nagpur, was caught by party workers and later arrested by police.
Siddiqui and five others, all identified, were booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) based on Adoor’s complaint. Several other unidentified persons have also been booked in connection with the incident, police said.
The incident comes amid an intense power struggle within the Congress over the mayor’s post in the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation. Rival factions led by Vijay Wadettiwar and Congress MP Pratibha Dhanorkar are at loggerheads ahead of the mayoral and deputy mayoral elections scheduled for February 10.
In the 66-member CMC, the Congress has emerged as the single largest party with 27 seats, short of the majority mark of 34. The BJP has won 23 seats, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) secured six seats.