THANE: Mumbra police have booked NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad for allegedly molesting a female social activist from the city after the inauguration ceremony of a MMRDA project near Shil Phata on Sunday evening.
The incident is believed to have occurred right in front of the entourage of chief minister Eknath Shinde, who was leaving from the venue.
The police said they are probing the matter and haven’t taken any action yet against Awhad.
The activist on Sunday said the MLA touched her inappropriately in the crowd following which she approached senior police officials and later registered a complaint with the Mumbra police. The police have booked Awhad under Section 354 of the IPC.
Immediately after the action, several local activists, apparently supporters of the former cabinet minister, staged protests outside Mumbra police station. The protests continued till morning. The Mumbra bypass was blocked for some time while some autos were also forced to stop plying.
“We are protesting this deliberate attempt to malign the image of our leader. Awhad ‘sahib’ used to address the complainant as his sister and she has now made this allegation, which is surprising,” said a protestor outside Mumbra police station.
The Thane police officials said they have stepped up vigil and the situation is under control in the city.
Meanwhile, Awhad on Monday tweeted and claimed he was falsely implicated in the case and also expressed his desire to quit as MLA.
https://twitter.com/Awhadspeaks/status/1591952797968510976
“This is the second ‘fake’ case registered against me in the last 72 hours. I want to resign as MLA but I will continue to fight this unjust action by the Thane police,” he said.