The incident where BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad shot at Mahesh Gaikwad, a leader from the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, has brought to light the rivalry between BJP leaders and those from the Shinde camp in Kalyan East.
The feud between Ganpat Gaikwad and Mahesh Gaikwad goes back years, when the former was once a small-time party worker. Both Ganpat Gaikwad and Mahesh Gaikwad are from the same village, known as Tisgaon or Tisai Gaon in Kalyan East. If sources are to be believed, both Mahesh Gaikwad and Ganpat Gaikwad are distant cousins.
On February 2, Ganpat Gaikwad, a BJP legislator from Kalyan East, fired 10 shots at Shiv Sena (Shinde) Kalyan East president Mahesh Gaikwad and his friend Rahul Patil inside the Hill Line Police station in Ulhasnagar.
Mahesh Gaikwad often questioned Ganpat Gaikwad’s actions. And the squabble between the two camps escalated in the past six months.
LAND DISPUTE THAT TRIGGERED FIRING INCIDENT
On February 2, Ganpat Gaikwad’s partners were putting up tin sheets and fences on a land parcel at Dwarli village in Kalyan Rural when they were stopped and threatened by Mahesh Gaikwad and his men. An FIR regarding this was also registered by one of the partners, Jitendra Parikh, against Mahesh Gaikwad and 70 others.
The land in question belongs to one Pramod Ranka who purchased the land from a Jadhav family in 1996. The eldest member of the Jadhav family who had sold the land died. The family then claimed that they had no idea about the deal, and they sold the same land to one Zaheer Qureshi.
Pramod Ranka was partners with Ganpat Gaikwad and Jitendra Parikh, who then allegedly paid around Rs 6.2 crore to Zaheer Qureshi and the Jadhav family to settle the dispute. The land issue was also being heard by the Konkan commissioner for land and it gave orders in favour of Pramod Ranka and Ganpat Gaikwad’s partners on January 29.
Following the order, Jitendra Parikh and his staff were putting up tin sheets on the land’s boundary when Mahesh Gaikwad reached the plot and started disrupting the work being carried out.
According to sources, the Jadhav family had a dispute with Ganpat Gaikwad over the land and sought the help of Mahesh Gaikwad in the matter. Jitendra Parikh then went to the Hill Line Police Station and filed a complaint.
PAST INCIDENTS AND CONFRONTATIONS
Sources said there was a heated exchange between Ganpat Gaikwad and Mahesh Gaikwad on a WhatsApp group a few months ago and both had challenged each other. Police officials later came to know about the dispute and managed to prevent the duo from confronting each other.
One prominent issue was related to development work. Mahesh Gaikwad, who is close to Kalyan MP Shrikant Shinde, the son of Eknath Shinde, had started participating actively in the inauguration and launching of development works in the constituency.
Mahesh Gaikwad was a first-time corporator while Ganpat Gaikwad was a three-term MLA. Despite that, Mahesh Gaikwad equally participated and carried out public activities and development works in the area.
WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE THE FIRING INCIDENT
Before the incident, Ganpat Gaikwad’s son Vaibhav had also been to the Hill Line police station, but police officials were busy meeting with Mahesh Gaikwad and his supporters. The police officials had advised Mahesh Gaikwad not to escalate his feud with Ganpat Gaikwad as it could lead to law and order issues.
Vaibhav could not meet the police officials and Ganpat Gaikwad later reached the police station in the evening. According to sources, Vaibhav, who was outside the police station, was pushed upon by Mahesh Gaikwad and his supporters. This probably triggered Ganpat Gaikwad, who then shot Mahesh Gaikwad and his friend Rahul Patil in the police station.
While the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the BJP are in alliance in Maharashtra, the relationship between the leaders of the two parties is tense in Kalyan East.
Ganpat Gaikwad, who was produced in a court, claimed he was being targeted by Eknath Shinde and his son Vaibhav, who is absconding, was being framed in the case.
Mahesh Gaikwad is hospitalised and is stable and recovering.
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