Police have filed a case against four unidentified individuals on charges of attempted murder after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh was seriously injured in a stone-pelting attack on his car in Nagpur.
The incident took place around 8 pm on Monday, the final day of campaigning for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, scheduled for November 20.
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Deshmukh was returning to Katol after attending a meeting in Narkhed village when his car was targeted by stones near Belphata on Jalalkheda Road in Nagpur district.
Following the attack, Deshmukh, who sustained head injuries, was rushed to the Katol Civil Hospital and subsequently transferred to a private hospital in Nagpur.
Nagpur Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Harssh Poddar said that an intensive investigation has been initiated, with a case filed against four individuals under charges of attempted murder.
A forensic team has visited the site to collect evidence. The deputy SP of Katol is overseeing the investigation, with senior police officials and the district collector also visiting the scene.
Poddar urged the public not to believe any rumors regarding the incident.
Slamming the attack, NCP spokesperson Vedprakash Arya called for a high-level inquiry and requested police protection for Deshmukh’s family.
“Some people attacked Anil Deshmukh’s car in Belfata Bhishnur in Katol, wherein Deshmukh received a serious head injury. His treatment started in Katol but due to the serious injury, he was shifted to Nagpur for treatment,” Arya said in a statement.
Deshmukh’s son, Salil Deshmukh, is contesting the Katol Assembly seat as an NCP (Sharad Pawar) candidate against BJP’s Charansingh Thakur.