BJP legislator who assaulted constable gets pre­-arrest bail

MUMBAI: Bhandara Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Ramchandra Avsare, who had slapped a police constable, got an anticipatory bail and evaded arrest. Avsare admitted that

MUMBAI: Bhandara Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Ramchandra Avsare, who had slapped a police constable, got an anticipatory bail and evaded arrest. Avsare admitted that he had assaulted the police constable but maintained that the constable had beaten up his driver for no reason.

HT Image

In the video that went viral on social media on August 18, Avsare was seen slapping constable Raju Sathwane, demanding why he beat up the MLA’s driver. The police constable could be heard saying that the driver had abused him but the enraged MLA slapped the constable during the argument. Sathwane is deployed at Tumsar police station of Bhandara district. The incident occurred on the premises of the police station and in front of a senior police officer.

Tumsar police booked the MLA for reportedly abusing and slapping an officer on duty under sections 353, 505 and 34 of the IPC but could not arrest him as Avsare procured an anticipatory bail.

Speaking to HT, Avsare confirmed that he went to the police station on Saturday.

“I am not denying the incident as the video clip had gone viral and was played by news channels repeatedly, but there is a reason behind what I did,” he said, adding that the constable was drunk and had beaten up his driver. Earlier, the BJP MLA was keen on filing a complaint against the constable but said he had changed his mind. “I don’t want to spoil his career,” he replied when asked why he had not filed a complaint against the constable.

The incident comes after Suresh Lad, a Nationalist Congress Party MLA from Karjat, allegedly assaulted a deputy collector over land acquisition for a gas pipeline project last week.