Sena (UBT) leader Parab seeks pre-arrest bail, says assault case politically motivated

The Shiv Sena (UBT) is being targeted by rivals to gain political mileage in Maharashtra, party leader and former minister Anil Parab claimed in his anticipatory bail application filed in a court here on Wednesday in connection with a case of alleged assault on a civic engineer.

Parab contended the case against him is ''politically motivated'' and has been filed with malafide intention to defame the Opposition party and its leader among members of the general public.

The case relates to alleged assault on an assistant engineer of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday during protest against demolition of what the Shiv Sena (UBT) claimed was its 'shakha' (local branch) in suburban Bandra last week.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator and 6 other accused have sought pre-arrest bail from Additional Sessions Judge V M Sundale in the assault case, in which four persons have already been arrested by the police.

Their plea will be heard on June 30.

Seeking relief, their application, filed through advocate Rahul Arote, stated that due to the current political situation in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena (UBT) led by former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is being targeted by rival parties to gain political mileage in the state.

''The applicants state that with the help of some political leaders and in collusion with government officials, party workers are being implicated in false and frivolous cases,'' the plea said.

During investigation of the case, four workers of the Shiv Sena (UBT) were arrested by the police and later remanded to judicial custody by a court, it said.

The police have shown the former state minister, an aide of Thackeray, and six others as wanted accused in the FIR and hence there is an apprehension of their arrest, the application said.

''Applicants had gone there (civic ward office, where the alleged assault took place) to espouse the cause of the general public and they have been implicated in the false case at the behest of the political rival and keeping them in custody would not suffice any purpose,'' the plea said.

It claimed allegations made against the accused were general in nature and therefore their custodial interrogation was not required.

The police on Tuesday registered an FIR against Parab and others for allegedly assaulting and threatening a civic engineer.

According to the police, Parab and a group of Shiv Sena (UBT) workers took out a march to H-East ward office of the BMC on Monday afternoon to protest the demolition of a party 'shakha' (local branch) in suburban Bandra.

A delegation led by the former minister later met H-East ward officer Swapna Kshirsagar to express their anguish over the BMC action.

The delegation members asked Kshirsagar to call before them officials who had demolished the party office even as pictures of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray were still inside the premises, as per the FIR.

When some civic staffers came forward, Shiv Sena (UBT) functionaries allegedly assaulted assistant engineer Ajay Patil (42) and also threatened him with dire consequences, it said.

They were booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty) and 506-2 (criminal intimidation).