Narrow escape for Nagpur Mayor after bike-borne men fire at his vehicle

Nagpur Mayor Sandip Joshi had a narrow escape after two unidentified bike-borne miscreants fired at his vehicle in the city on Tuesday night, December 17. The incident took place when the mayor was returning from an eatery on Outer Ring Road when the bike-borne men fired three rounds of bullets at him. Three bullets hit the glass windows and rear windshield of the sports utility vehicle (SUV) which Joshi was driving, but he escaped unhurt, the police said.

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Sandip Joshi recorded his statement at Beltarodi police station in the city. "I was out with my family. While I was returning, two people came in a bike and fired bullets on my vehicle, thrice. I had received threats earlier. Police say this might be in connection with encroachment in the city", Joshi said. It was reported that the mayor had received a threat to his life after he initiated an anti-encroachment drive in Nagpur. In the wake of the incident, Nagpur police have provided security cover to the mayor.

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Politics triggered

BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar on Wednesday expressed concern over the attack on Nagpur Mayor Sandip Joshi and said this indicated the Uddhav Thackeray-led government's failure to maintain law and order in the state. Raising concern over the incident in the state Assembly, Mungantiwar said, "It is a serious matter that the first citizen of Nagpur has been attacked in this way. This indicates the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government's failure to maintain law and order in the state."

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The former minister said, in the last five years when the BJP was in power in the State, the Opposition always demanded the appointment of a full-time Home minister. But, the present MVA government has not appointed a full-time Home minister, and it is crucial with respect to incidents like the attack on the Nagpur mayor, he said. "If the number of demands made by the (then opposition) Congress and NCP for appointing a full-time Home minister are counted, it could create a world record in itself," he quipped.

(With agency inputs)

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