Kirit Somaiya attack: Ex-Mumbai mayor Vishwas Mahadeshwar, 3 others arrested

Earlier today, a Somaiya-led delegation met officials of the Union home ministry in connection with the incident.

The Mumbai Police on Monday arrested four accused, including Shiv Sena leader and former city mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, in connection with the attack on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya, whose car was pelted with stones on Saturday at the Khar police station where he went to meet arrested lawmaker couple from Amravati, MP Navneet Rana, and her MLA husband Ravi Rana.

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya speaks to the media after meeting Union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla regarding an attack by Shiv Sena workers,. (ANI Photo/ Rahul Singh)

The arrests took place on a day when a Somaiya-led BJP delegation met officials of the Union home ministry, including Minister of State (home), Nityanand Rai, and home secretary Ajay Bhalla, in connection with the incident. “Nityanand Rai assured BJP Delegation to take appropriate steps to Stop Abuse of Power & Assault,” the former Mumbai North-East MP posted on Twitter after the meeting.

Somaiya, had accused ‘100 Shivsena Gundas’ of pelting stones at his car. On Sunday, Maharashtra home minister Dilip Walse Patel confirmed that stones were indeed pelted at the BJP leader's vehicle, adding that a case had been registered in the matter.

The attack on Somaiya, and the alleged attack the night before on another BJP leader, Mohit Kamboj, as well as the ongoing Hanuman Chalisa row involving the Ranas, are likely to be yet another flashpoint between the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and the opposition BJP.

The BJP and Sena are former allies who went their separate ways in late 2019. The Sena then entered into an alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress to form the MVA. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is the chief minister of Maharashtra.