'Maharashtra police got 58 medals': Cong's Sachin Sawant taunts 'pro-Bihar' BJP leaders

Maharashtra Congress leader Sachin Sawant fired a stinging taunt at "pro-Bihar" state BJP leaders after the Maharashtra Police bagged over 50 prestigious medals on the occasion of Independence Day this year while the Bihar force won none.

Medals to police personnel are awarded in three categories — President's Police Medal (PPM) for distinguished service, Police Medal of Gallantry (PMG), and Police Medal (PM) for Meritorious Service. Maharashtra Police won five PPMs, 14 PMGs, and 39 PM for Meritorious Service. The force has won the third-highest number of total medals, after peers from Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

"The pro-Bihar BJP Maharashtra leaders who praised the Bihar police and insulted Maharashtra may have been deeply saddened by the fact that the Bihar police did not get a single medal and at the same time the Maharashtra police got 58 medals," Sachin Sawant wrote in Marathi on Twitter. "Get the strength to endure this suffering, this is Shri Ramcharani's prayer!" he added.

Heated politics

Leaders from the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra have slammed top state BJP leaders, including former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for their alleged support to the Bihar Police and their narrative over the contentious probe of the Sushant Singh Rajput death case. Some in the BJP has called for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation, much like politicians from Bihar, and has alleged mishandling of the case from the side of Mumbai Police.

On Friday, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi linked Fadnavis's possible role in the Bihar poll campaign to his stance on the Sushant case. Sources indicated that Fadnavis' name cropped in BJP's core committee meeting on Thursday. His role in the campaign team for the Bihar election is likely to be made official in the upcoming week.

Alleging that the JD(U)-BJP alliance had failed in governance, Chaturvedi claimed that BJP wanted to seek votes from the tragic death of the Chhichhore actor. To buttress her point, the Sena Deputy leader cited statements made by the former Maharashtra CM and his wife Amruta Fadnavis vis-à-vis Mumbai Police.

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Sushant Singh Rajput death case

The 34-year-old actor's untimely death on June 14 sent shockwaves across the country. While the Mumbai Police only registered an Accidental Death Report, the Patna Police filed an FIR against actor Rhea Chakraborty and other persons based on the complaint of the Dil Bechara actor's father KK Singh. Sections 341 (Wrongful Restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement), 380 (theft), 406 (breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code have been included in the FIR.

Additionally, the Enforcement Directorate has initiated a money laundering case against Chakraborty in connection with the Sushant death case. After the Bihar government's recommendation to transfer the case to the CBI, the agency formally registered an FIR. Six persons including Rhea Chakraborty have been named as accused. Chakraborty has moved the Supreme Court challenging the transfer of the Patna Police case to the CBI. 

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