Five legislators suspended till December for beating policeman

Their arrest is imminent as police have already registered offence

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Five legislators from Maharashtra who allegedly beat up a policeman inside the premises of the state Assembly yesterday have been suspended from the House till December 31.

The MLAs - Kshitij Thakur from the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi, Ram Kadam from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Rajan Salvi from the Shiv Sena, Jaikumar Rawal from the BJP and an independent Pradeep Jaiswal - were among a group of 10-12 legislators who had allegedly slapped and punched Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Suryavanshi. The city police are expected to arrest these five legislators on Thursday. In addition, the police have registered offence against 10 others who also face the arrest for beating the government employee.

The city police commissioner Satyapal Singh held meeting with the assembly speaker Dilip Walse Patil after legislators charged that two officials of the city crime branch werre chasing them and keeping a watch on their movements in the Vidahan Bhavan. Walse Patil is believed to have rapped the police officials for their action. Subsequently, the suspended legislators offered to appear in the Marine Drive police station on Thursday saying that they were not running away.

Eknath Khadse, leader of opposition in the state assembly alleged that the government has only targetted opposition members and suspended them by sparing the ruling party legislators.

On Monday the policeman had stopped Bahujan Vikas Aghadi MLA Kshitij Thakur for speeding on the Bandra-Worli sealink in Mumbai. The legislators reportedly got enraged after Thakur accused the policeman of breach of privilege and alleged that he had also abused him when he stopped him on the Bandra-Worli sealink.

While members cutting across party lines demanded that the cop be suspended, some of them rushed near the visitor's gallery where the policeman was standing and thrashed him. The police officer was rushed to a hospital on a stretcher. He had been summoned to the Assembly to explain his action.