Court acquits MLA Bachchu Kadu in 2011 Mantralaya clerk slapping case

Mumbai: A special court here on Friday acquitted former Maharashtra minister Omprakash alias Bachchu Kadu in a 2011 case of slapping a clerk at the Mantralaya, the state secretariat in south Mumbai.

Special court judge A U Kadam, hearing cases related to MPs and MLAs, acquitted Kadu, an independent legislator from Achalpur in Amravati district. Details of the order are not available yet.

Kadu heads the Prahar Janshakti Party (PJP) and supports the Mahayuti government in the state.

As per the complaint, Kadu had assaulted a clerk working with the Public Health Department at the Mantralaya in January 2011, for allegedly demanding money from a person who had been shortlisted to be appointed as a medical officer.

The MLA slapped the employee and dragged him by holding his hand to the cabin of the personal assistant of the then health minister Suresh Shetty, the complainant said, adding that he did not have anything to do with the appointment of a doctor.

Based on the complaint filed by the victim, a case was registered against Kadu at the Marine Drive police station under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 332 (preventing a public servant from discharging duty) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharging duty).