“There is ‘gunda raj’, ‘mafia raj’ in Maharashtra,” Sanjay Raut after Sena (UBT) leader shot dead

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 9 (ANI): Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday alleged breakdown of law and order in Maharashtra after party leader Abhishek Ghosalkar was shot dead on Thursday by unidentified assailants in Mumbai.

Coming down heavily on the Eknath Shinde-led NDA government in the state, Raut said, “There is ‘gunda raj’ and ‘mafia raj’ in Maharashtra. This ‘mafia raj’ has the blessings of the Shinde government. We will not keep quiet. Where is your ED, CBI, now? PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are responsible for this ‘gunda raj.”

Congress leader and LoP in the state assembly Vijay Wadettiwar claimed that the murder of Abhishek Ghosalkar was political.

“The law and order situation in the state has worsened. The courage of criminals has increased due to the support of the ruling party. The murder of Abhishek Ghosalkar is a political murder, and strict action should be taken against those who are involved in it,” Wadettiwar said.

Sanjay Raut earlier also demanded the resignation of CM Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis.

Taking to his official X handle, Raut posted, “There is a reign of goons in Maharashtra! Mauris Noronha, who shot Abhishek Ghosalkar four days ago, was at the (CM’s) bungalow. The chief minister met him.”

“Mauris was invited to join the Shinde Sena. (Devendra) Fadnavis has proved to be a complete failure as Home Minister. He must resign,” Raut claimed in his post earlier.

Meanwhile, the mortal remains of the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader have been brought to his residence in Mumbai’s Borivali.

One person has also been detained in connection with the matter, Mumbai Police said on Friday.

According to the police, the accused has been identified as Mehul.

The police informed that after the investigation of the incident spot, which continued for 7 hours, the police recovered a pistol, a live cartridge, and CCTV footage.

Ghosalkar was shot dead by a lone assailant, whom the police identified as Mauris Noronha, in the Dahisar area. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Later, the assailant, Noronha, too, shot himself dead, according to the police.

The police said that a case has also been registered against deceased Mauris under section 302 of the IPC, Sections 3 and 25 of the Arms Act, Section 37 (1) (A), and Section 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act.

Meanwhile, the Crime Branch on Friday claimed a rivalry between the victim and his assailant in connection to the Dahisar firing incident.

Speaking to ANI, DCP (Crime Branch) Raj Tilak Roushan said, “There was an incident of firing in the jurisdiction of MHB police station in which two persons died. Further investigation by the Crime Branch is underway. We are also in the process of registering an FIR in the matter. We will also probe if the assailant had a valid licence for the firearm (used for the crime). The matter is being probed from all angles.”

“The officers from the Crime Branch are carrying out the probe. Prima facie, it seems there was some kind of a rivalry between these two and the killing may have been a fallout of the same,” the DCP (Crime Branch) added.