Shinde loyalist, ex-minister Samant's car `attacked' in Pune

Shindes convoy had passed along the same route some time before the attack, Samant said.A windowpane of the car in which Samant was travelling was damaged in the incident, one of his aides said.

A group of unidentified persons attacked his car at a signal in Katraj area here on Tuesday evening, rebel Shiv Sena MLA and former Maharashtra minister Uday Samant claimed.

Samant, one of the 40 Sena MLAs who support Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, was here to attend Shinde's programs in the district, a source close to him said. Shinde's convoy had passed along the same route some time before the attack, Samant said.

A windowpane of the car in which Samant was travelling was damaged in the incident, one of his aides said. A video of a mob trying to surround Samant's vehicle and shouting slogans circulated on social media.

Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray's public meeting was held in the vicinity around the same time. Samant told a Marathi news channel that when his convoy halted at a signal, two vehicles pulled alongside and several people who were wielding rods and baseball bats attacked his car. ''They attacked my car in a pre-mediated manner. They probably wanted to follow my and CM's convoys. When the incident took place, the CM's convoy had gone ahead. I suspect somebody must have done a recce of the CM's route,'' Samant said.

Shinde's supporters will not be cowed down by such incidents, he said.

''We will not back down. In fact, we will be with the chief minister even more firmly. (Uddhav Thackeray and leaders loyal to him) should stop using words like traitors and backstabbers,'' the former minister added.

Asked about the incident at a program in the city, Chief Minister Shinde said throwing stones at a car and running away is not an act of courage.

''Police will take action against those who did this,'' he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)