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The NCP group under Sharad Pawar has demanded the resignation of Maharashtra Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the murder of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Abhishek Ghosalkar during a ‘Facebook Live’.
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Absolutely heartbroken and have no words to express the sadness I feel for the blatant disregard for law and order in Mumbai.
Shame on the illegitimate government , how many more bali(s) would satisfy your hunger for power?
Maharashtra neither will…— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) February 8, 2024
Clyde Crasto, national spokesperson of Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar said the law and order situation has gone out of control in Maharashtra.
“Be it Nagpur where ‘goondas’ are having their say, Pune where the ‘koita gang’ is creating havoc every now and then, Ulhasnagar where an MLA fearlessly uses a police station to settle his score with an enemy and now, a young man, ex-corporator Abhishek Ghosalkar, was shot dead by a criminal without fear of law,” Crasto said.
A rattled Devendra Fadnavis later quoted by ANI said, “The entire incident of UBT leader Abhishek Ghosalkar being shot dead & accused killing himself is serious & saddening…No one should politicize this incident. The investigation is underway…”
The investigation into the sensational murder of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Abhishek Ghosalkar during a Facebook Live’ to by a local social activist’, who also killed himself, has been transferred to the Mumbai Crime Branch, an official said on Friday.
Abhishek (40), son of former MLA Vinod Ghosalkar, a loyalist of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, was also a former corporator. A viral video of the incident, which took place at assailant Mauris Noronha’s office in IC Colony in the northern suburb of Borivali (West) on Thursday evening, showed Ghosalkar being shot in the abdomen and shoulder.
#WATCH | Mortal remains of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Abhishek Ghosalkar brought to his residence in Mumbai’s Borivali.
He was shot dead last night in a firing incident in the Dahisar area of Mumbai. pic.twitter.com/6EgUGlTJI6
— ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2024
The Crime Branch probe will focus on several aspects, including how Noronha got the weapon and who provided it to him, if he was under the influence of alcohol at the time and the questioning of people who were present at the spot when Ghosalkar was fired upon, he said.
A senior police official earlier told PTI that Ghosalkar was hit by four bullets. Noronha, who used an illegal pistol for the crime, then shot himself once, he added.
#WATCH | Maharashtra: On Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Abhishek Ghosalkar shot dead in a firing in Dahisar area of Mumbai, party MP Sanjay Raut says, “…There is ‘gunda raj’ and ‘mafia raj’ in Maharashtra. This ‘mafia raj’ has the blessings of the Shinde govt…We will not keep… pic.twitter.com/tNuGyDcU8A
— ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2024
Ghosalkar and Noronha had personal enmity but the Facebook live was arranged to clarify that they had come together, ending their bitterness for the betterment of the IC Colony area, another police official said. The MHB Colony police registered a case after the murder, while Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Satya Narayan and Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Datta Nalawade visited the spot for the probe. Late in the night, the case was transferred to the Mumbai Crime Branch for further investigation, a senior police official said.
The decision was taken considering the seriousness of the matter and the scope of the probe, he said. A team from the Crime Branch also visited the crime scene along with the local police, the official said.
Later, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Lakhmi Gautam and DCP (Crime) Raj Tilak Roshan also reached the spot in connection with the investigation. The team has started the probe and is trying to gather evidence, he said.
The Crime Branch will try to ascertain from where Noronha procured the pistol and who provided it to him, the official said. Inquiry with the people, who were at the spot during the incident is being conducted, he said.
