Sena UBT MLA asks when ex-BJP MLA facing gang rape charge will be arrested

Demands for the arrest of former BJP MLA Narendra Pawar have grown after a gang rape case was registered against him. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MLA Varun Sardesai launched a sharp attack on BJP and the ruling parties over the case, directly asking when Pawar, facing a rape charge, would be arrested.

Padgha police have registered a case against Narendra Pawar and dismissed police constable Shailesh Patil under gang rape and other charges, based on a complaint by a 22-year-old married woman. Police have reportedly begun searching for both men.

Sardesai, who was in Kalyan for a party review meeting, reacted to the case. He said that when even a minor case is registered against an opposition leader, spokespersons of the ruling party become aggressive and a media trial begins immediately. However, he alleged that even after a serious case was registered, the accused was being protected because of his BJP links. He demanded that Pawar be arrested immediately without any political protection.

According to the police complaint, the woman was having a domestic dispute with her husband. She alleges she was called on the pretext of helping mediate the dispute, and was then taken to a farmhouse in the Bapgaon area of Bhiwandi taluka. There, she alleges, she was threatened with a weapon, made to drink alcohol and sexually assaulted. Based on this complaint, Padgha police registered a case against Narendra Pawar and Shailesh Patil and began investigation.

Narendra Pawar has denied all the allegations against him, claiming they are false and part of a conspiracy to defame him. After the case was registered, he resigned from all his positions in BJP, stating in his resignation letter that he was stepping down so as not to damage the party's image.

There have also been demands for police protection for the woman and her family. Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) Congress group leader Kanchan Kulkarni has demanded the arrest of the accused and warned of protests if it does not happen.

Sardesai also commented on the political situation in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation, saying a leader of opposition has still not been chosen and there is no clear decision on the appointments of newly elected corporators. He also targeted the ruling parties over the ongoing political dispute between the Shiv Sena Shinde faction and BJP, asking how citizens' work would get done if the dispute between the two parties continued.

Sardesai was on a visit to Kalyan-Dombivli to review the party organisation. The meeting, held at Mangeshi Hall in Kalyan West, was attended by Sardesai, Shiv Sena (UBT) KDMC group leader Umesh Borgaonkar, and party corporators, office-bearers and workers. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Sardesai commented on both the Narendra Pawar case and political developments in KDMC. He also noted that the investigation into the Pawar case is ongoing and that the allegations against him have not yet been proven in court.