Photo war ensues between govt and opposition over drug mafia case

The Shinde-led Sena has been at the receiving end of flak after drug dealer Lalit Patil’s escape from a Pune hospital a fortnight ago. Opposition parties had alleged that Patil was close to Shiv Sena minister Dada Bhuse, and demanded to know if Bhuse had pressurised the police to shift Patil to the hospital after he was arrested

MUMBAI: NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad on Thursday released pictures of chief minister Eknath Shinde along with one Parag Sanghvi, alleging that the latter was an associate of gangster Chhota Rajan. The pictures were in response to photos shared by the Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s spokesperson Manisha Kayande on Wednesday, alleging that Awhad and NCP leader Supriya Sule were linked to an accused arrested in the drug mafia case.

Photo war ensues between govt and opposition over drug mafia case

“CM Eknath Shinde Visits Gambler & Scamster in Housing Scam and close associate of #ChotaRajan Parag Sanghvis residence 5 days ago. These are his Photos visiting Parag Sanghvis residence,” Awhad said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The MLA asked Kayande to respond to the pictures.

Kayande, at a press conference on Wednesday, had demanded answers from Awhad and Sule. “How have Supriya Sule and Jitendra Awhad, who make wild allegations against state ministers, clicked photographs with one of the accused (whose name came to light during the drug case probe)? The two must give a clarification,” she said.

The Shinde-led Sena has been at the receiving end of flak after drug dealer Lalit Patil’s escape from a Pune hospital a fortnight ago. Opposition parties had alleged that Patil was close to Shiv Sena minister Dada Bhuse, and demanded to know if Bhuse had pressurised the police to shift Patil to the hospital after he was arrested. The Opposition had also accused another Sena minister, Shambhuraj Desai, of links to the case.

Sanghvi, whose picture with Shinde was splashed by Awhad, is a film producer who was arrested by the economic offenses wing of the Mumbai police in connection with a housing fraud in December 2021. He has also been raided by the enforcement directorate and was questioned by the Thane police in 2018 in connection with the IPL betting racket.

Kayande retorted that Sanghvi could have met CM Shinde but he was not inducted into the party whereas drug mafiosi Lalit Patil was an office-bearer of the Shiv Sena (UBT) in Nashik. “Both the NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT) have yet to respond to this,” she said.