Two brothers booked for assaulting Cong member over illegal mining complaint

Jalna: Police in Jalna district of Maharashtra have registered a case against two brothers, who are BJP workers, for allegedly assaulting a Congress member after he accused them of indulging in illegal mining, an official said.

The incident occurred at the Jafrabad tehsil office on Tuesday, he said.

A video of the incident went viral on social media drawing widespread condemnation for the act of the accused.

The victim, Pramod Fadat (33), a resident of Borgaon in Jafrabad tehsil, had earlier complained to the district authorities about the alleged illegal mining activities of Sagar Lokhande and his brother Chetan from Mauje Khasgaon village, the police said.

On Tuesday, Fadat went to the tehsil office to pursue the matter, when the Lokhande brothers, who run a stone crusher plant, questioned him about his complaint against them, they said.

Their altercation soon turned into a fight. The Lokhandes assaulted Fadat and dragged him. A nayab tehsildar as well as some bystanders tried to pacify them, but in vain. After some time, a team of local police arrived at the spot and rescued Fadat.

A case was later registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections against the two brothers at the Jafrabad police station.

The accused are sons of former member of Jalna Zilla Parishad Santosh Lokhande Jafrabad police station.