Pune City Police have arrested two persons within 12 hours after they allegedly attacked a police officer with a koyta (machete) in the Hadapsar area after he tried to break up an argument around 4pm on Sunday.
The accused have been identified as Nihalsingh Mannusingh Tak (19) and Rahulsingh Ravindrasingh Bhond (20), both residents of Canal Road in Hadapsar.
Acting on a tip-off, Tak and Singh were arrested for allegedly attacking API Ratnakar Gaikwad from Solapur district, located around 250km from Pune.
Meanwhile, when the accused were brought to the Wanwadi police station in Pune, the police tied their legs with ropes and made them hop their way to the station. In a video going viral on social media, the accused are seen hopping in discomfort as they reach the police station.
Watch Video:
API Gaikwad has sustained a severe head injury and is currently undergoing treatment.
.jpg)
Meanwhile, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) staged a protest on Monday, demanding the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the state's Home Minister, claiming that the law and order situation in the city has deteriorated.
"We demand that Fadnavis resign as home minister. Whenever he is the state home minister or chief minister, crimes increase. In cities like Pune, large quantities of drugs are seized. Crimes have increased because goons who are externed are in Fadnavis's convoy," the party's city unit chief Prashant Jagtap alleged. The attack on a policeman shows that criminals have become emboldened, he said.
Baramati MP Supriya Sule expressed her concerns on social media, stating, "Is it true that criminals in Pune no longer fear the police? A police officer was attacked and injured with a machete within the Wanwadi police station's jurisdiction. This incident highlights the rampant crime in the city and the Home Minister's failure to address it."
Congress MLA Ravindra Dhangekar said, "It is a matter of shame for the state home department that the police brothers who are responsible for the security of all of us are being attacked in Pune."
"In Pune, crime has been increasing rapidly in the last few years. Small gangs and young children are seen walking around with knives, sticks; cars are broken, people are beaten up. Along with this, criminal gangs are also active again. Looking at all this situation, there is a need for the Maharashtra Home Minister Fadnavis to stop the election campaign completely for some time and pay attention to the law and order situation in Maharashtra," said Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Mukund Kirdat.
