Ganpat Gaikwad among guests of honour at job fair

Job fair in Thane to begin at Wagle Estate, but controversy arises as jailed legislator Ganpat Gaikwad is listed as guest of honour.

Thane: While the state government’s much publicised job fair is due to begin at the Wagle Estate on Wednesday, the invite for the programme mentions the name of three-time legislator from Kalyan East Ganpat Gaikwad, who is currently lodged in Taloja jail, among the guests of honour. Gaikwad had allegedly pumped six bullets into Shiv Sena leader Mahesh Gaikwad last month over an apparent case of land dispute and the incident was captured live on CCTV camera.

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The employment fair for the Konkan division will be held at the Model mill compound at Wagle Estate, Thane on March 6-7. A review meeting was held at the venue on Tuesday in the presence of Konkan divisional commissioner Dr Mahendra Kalyankar, district collector Ashok Shingare and other officials.

The fair will have 352 stalls. Around 1,074 companies will participate in proceedings on day one, when 56,020 persons are likely to get employment; around 1,045 companies will participate on March 7, when 44,774 persons are likely to get employment.

The invitational poster for the programme, which will be inaugurated by chief minister Eknath Shinde, mentions Ganpat Gaikwad’s name among the guests of honour. On February 2, Gaikwad allegedly fired six bullets at Mahesh Gaikwad, a leader from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. The two leaders had an altercation over a land dispute, and Ganpat Gaikwad shot Mahesh Gaikwad while both parties were at the police station to file complaints. Mahesh Gaikwad and his assistant were injured in the incident. The Hill Line police have booked six accused and arrested five persons so far, including Gaikwad who is in judicial custody now.