Shiv Sena MLA Nitin Deshmukh surfaced dramatically at Nagpur airport on Wednesday with a sensational claim that he was not only 'kidnapped' but was also admitted to a hospital in Surat with a fake claim that he had suffered from a heart attack -- all to keep him in the rebel camp of Eknath Shinde. Follow LIVE updates of Maharashtra crisis
"I came out of the hotel at 12 midnight. I was still on the road at 3am. I was not getting any van. I was followed by 100-150 policemen who dragged me and got me admitted to a hospital saying I had heart attack. They wanted to operate on me, harm me under the excuse that I have got a heart attack. But by God's grace, I am alright and did not suffer from heart attack," Nitin Deshmukh said detailing the drama that apparently unfolded post-midnight in Surat on Monday. Upon his arrival in Maharashtra, Deshmukh said he stands with Uddhav Thackeray.
Maha crisis: Rebel Shinde says 46 MLAs with them, warns ‘numbers will rise’
But how did he reach Surat in the first place? Nitin Deshmukh said he accompanied Shinde to Surat as he did not know anything about the rebellion. He went to Surat with Shinde considering him as a colleague. But according to his claim, as he got to know about the conspiracy of the rebellion, he started to protest. But he could not escape from the hotel where all the MLAs were holed up. Following the midnight drama, he was dragged to a hospital where he was forcibly administered some injections, Nitin Deshmukh claimed.
{{/usCountry}}But how did he reach Surat in the first place? Nitin Deshmukh said he accompanied Shinde to Surat as he did not know anything about the rebellion. He went to Surat with Shinde considering him as a colleague. But according to his claim, as he got to know about the conspiracy of the rebellion, he started to protest. But he could not escape from the hotel where all the MLAs were holed up. Following the midnight drama, he was dragged to a hospital where he was forcibly administered some injections, Nitin Deshmukh claimed.
{{/usCountry}}It is not yet clear what happened after he was admitted to the hospital and what transpired on Tuesday as Deshmukh on Wednesday reportedly flew to Guwahati where the rebel MLAs are cooling their heels, as of now.
Deshmukh's wife had said that her husband had become unreachable from Monday night while Sanjay Raut claimed that Nitin Deshmukh was 'kidnapped' from Mumbai and was beaten up by the Gujarat Police when he tried to flee on Monday night.
Nitin Deshmukh on Wednesday travelled to Guwahati but not with Shinde and the other MLAs. Deshmukh remained at Guwahati's Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi international airport for a few hours, and then, along with five Shiv Sena activists, left for Nagpur in another chartered aircraft.