Maharashtra House suspends MLAs for bashing cop

Two of them may be taken into custody

The Maharashtra Assembly on Wednesday suspended five MLAs and barred them from entering the Legislatures in Mumbai and Nagpur till December 31, 2013, for beating up a policeman inside the Vidhan Bhavan.

Kshitij Thakur (BVS), Rajan Salvi (Shiv Sena), Ram Kadam (MNS), Jaykumar Rawal (BJP) and Pradeep Jaiswal (independent) had attacked assistant police inspector (traffic) Sachin Survyavanshi near the visitor’s gallery on Tuesday.

Mumbai crime branch sources disclosed that at least two of the suspended legislators may be taken into custody for assaulting a government servant on duty late on Wednesday night or early on Thursday morning.

On Wednesday morning, Maharashtra Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshvardhan Patil, after studying CCTV footage, moved a resolution seeking suspension of the five MLAs who were identified as the key perpetrators in the attack.

The resolution was adopted by the House through a voice vote. “The MLAs’ actions were serious and had lowered the dignity of the House and thus it has been decided to suspend them till December 31, 2013,” Patil said.

Soon after the suspension, the police took cognisance of the FIR registered on the basis of Suryavanshi’s complaint which named Thakur and Kadam as key attackers and 14 others as supporters.

The MLAs had earlier said they were provoked by Suryavanshi’s belligerence, uncouth behaviour and lewd gesticulations from the visitors’ gallery. However, political leaders cutting across party lines condemned the assault.

In the first hour of the Budget session, which was set to hear the state economic survey report, BVS MLA Thakur moved a privilege motion demanding explanation from Suryavanshi who had fined him on Monday for breaking speed limit on the Bandra-Worli Sea-link bridge.

The police officer was summoned to Vidhan Bhavan. While he was sitting near the visitors’ gallery, a group of MLAs surrounded Suryavanshi and started pummeling and kicking him. He was finally rescued by marshals and had to be rushed to hospital.