Thane: BJP city president's kin in dock for firing gun at Navratri procession

The gun visible in Ashish Bhoir's hand

The Police have registered a case against a man, who is a close relative of BJP's woman city president Sujata Bhoir, after a viral video showed him fire live rounds during a Navratri procession recently. The accused has been identified as Ashish Bhoir.

In the video, BJP leader Sujata, is seen dancing to music, along with other women during a Navratri celebration. Ashish, who is seen standing behind her, takes out a pistol and fires two rounds in the air. He then hides the pistol under his clothes, while continuing to dance.

The video was apparently shot on October 1 during a Durga procession in Ambernath. After the video clip went viral on WhatsApp and Facebook, the video kicked up a huge storm with several social media users pointing to the risk of firing live rounds in public.

The accused, identified as Ashish Bhoir, seen firing a round in the air, as a small child looks at him

Just four months ago, a 13-year-old succumbed to his injuries after a bullet hit him, when someone fired a round at a wedding function in Gaikwad pada, Ambernath.

Following outrage over the recent incident, the police decided to investigate the case. "The accused [Ashish] has a licence for the pistol, but if any person with a licensed revolver fires a round, he/she must inform the police first. In this case, it wasn't done," said a police officer from Ambernath police station.

Sujata Bhoir (left) with a local party worker

When contacted, Ankit Goel, deputy commissioner of police, Ulhasnagar, Zone IV, said, "We have confiscated the revolver and the licence. He has a licence to keep the weapon, but there was no permission taken to fire a round. We have registered a case against him at the Shivaji Nagar police station and are investigating the matter."

Despite repeated attempts, Sujata remained unavailable for comment.

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