MLA Bagwe's son booked for ruckus near poll booth

Congress candidate Avinash Bagwe, son of MLA Ramesh Bagwe, was booked and firmly dealt with by the police for creating a ruckus inside a polling centre in the city yesterday.u00a0Avinash was taken to the task by Assistant Commissioner of Police Ranjit Dhure for refusing to step out of his office in a housing society, which also housed a polling centre.

The incident took place around 1 pm at the Rajiv Gandhi Cooperative Housing Society in Kashewadi in Bhavani Peth, under Panel Number 60, which also houses Avinash's office. Election commission rules state a candidate should not be present within a 100-metre radius of the polling centre.

The police and election officials requested Avinash to vacate the premises but this gave rise to an altercation. He allegedly got aggressive and refused to follow instructions when Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ranjit Dhure reached the spot. As Avinash was reportedly creating a ruckus, Dhure had to resort to physical force. Dhure dragged Avinash out of the complex.

Soon, Ramesh Bagwe also reached the spot and was able to bring some calm to the situation. Assistant Commissioner of Police Ranjit Dhure said that he first tried to reason with Avinash and requested him to leave the area but to no avail.

"The election officials present at the spot were also being calm but Bagwe was not being receptive and his demeanour was very aggressive. I therefore had to hold him by the arm and push him out when he got violent. We will arrest him soon," said Dhure. The Khadak police station later booked Bagwe on the basis of a complaint filed by PI Sandeepan Sawant.