Pune Rural Police have booked four persons, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Shankar Mandekar’s brother, Balasaheb Mandekar, on the charge of firing in the air on the night of July 21 during a folk dance performance at Ambika Lok Kala Kendra near Yavat in Daund taluka.
According to the police, Balasaheb Mandekar, Ganpat Jagtap, Chandrakant Marne and an unidentified person have been booked in the case.
"While a dance performance involving women was underway, Mandekar allegedly fired a shot in the air around 10:30pm while dancing. The bullet hit a wall before getting stuck in the ceiling. No one was injured, but the manager of the centre filed a complaint," a Pune Rural Police officer said.
A case has been registered under provisions of the Arms Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 125, which pertains to acts endangering the life and personal safety of others.
Meanwhile, NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar accused the police of "covering up" the firing incident.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, "In Daund, at an arts centre, the brother of a ruling MLA from Pune district opened fire and created a ruckus, with reports indicating that a young woman was injured in the incident. Instead of identifying who these individuals firing recklessly are, information suggests that the police, under pressure from the ruling powers, are attempting to suppress the case. Will action be taken against the culprits? Or will they be let off because they are from the ruling party? What kind of 'spectacle of power' is this?"
Responding to Pawar's allegation, Pune Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Sandeep Singh Gill denied any wrongdoing.
"Our enquiry in the matter was underway since Tuesday. Our team had to inspect the spot to trace the bullet marks and convince people associated with the Kendra to lodge a complaint. A search is on for the MLA's brother and his three aides. We suspect they are somewhere in the Mulshi taluka," Gill said.
