NCP ZP members expressed intention to disrupt March 20 voting for key posts: Satara police in detailed report to SID

Kolhapur: The Satara police on Monday submitted a detailed report to the state intelligence department (SID) outlining the sequence of events and circumstances that led to the arrest of two NCP ZP members on their way to cast votes in the zilla parishad election for president and vice-president posts.It is alleged that the arrest of two ZP members — Anil Desai and Sandip Mandave — ahead of voting on March 20 paved the way for BJP's Priya Shinde and Raju Bhosale to win the top posts by securing 32 votes against the alliance's 30.According to sources, SID is expected to forward the report to the state home secretary, who will present it to the home minister — in this case, the chief minister. A senior Satara police officer told TOI that one of the two ZP members had expressed an intention to disrupt the voting process while on the way to the ZP premises. "This conversation took place after they learnt that some members were likely to back BJP in the voting. Both were detained to ensure the voting process remained peaceful," the officer said.The officer said they had multiple opportunities to arrest the two in the abduction case, but no such action was initiated due to "strict instructions from the seniors that they should be allowed to vote". "If (arresting them) had been the intention, we could have detained them earlier and prevented them from entering the ZP building," the officer said.The officer said allegations about police filing a false case regarding abduction and threat to a NCP member were incorrect. "The two were detained to ensure smooth conduct of the election. They were subsequently arrested in the kidnap case," the officer said. The two were released on bail on Tuesday on a personal surety of Rs 50,000.In the state assembly, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde on Monday claimed he had told the director general of police, Sadanand Date, to tell Satara superintendent of police Tushar Doshi to allow the voting process to conclude before taking any action. Shinde said he had received assurances from both Date and Doshi, and termed the denial of voting rights to the two councillors as a murder of democracy.Sena-NCP plans to act against defectorsDuring the March 20 voting, three NCP and two Shiv Sena councillors crossed over to BJP. "Their votes have been officially recorded. We are preparing the legal notices and have sought video footage of the proceedings from the presiding officer. Notices for their expulsion will be issued soon," a senior NCP member said.Sena women workers protestWomen workers of the Shiv Sena's Satara unit held a large silent march in the city on Tuesday, demanding action against police for misusing powers and interfering in the election process. "BJP has betrayed Shiv Sena. We demand the removal of the SP. Our ministers were manhandled and hurt by the police. Is this justice? If CM Devendra Fadnavis does not suspend the SP and the officers involved, we will begin a hunger strike," Reshma Jagtap, an office bearer of the Sena's Satara unit, said.