FIR against MLA Lad

The Raigad police on Thursday filed a first information report (FIR) against the NCP’s Karjat legislator Suresh Lad, without naming him, for allegedly assaulting a deputy collector last week.

A video grab of the legislator purportedly beating up the senior state government official, who had kept pleading with him to stop, had recently gone viral. “The FIR has been filed against Lad for alleged offences related to assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty, kidnapping, for voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty, voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation and obstructing a public servant in the discharge of public functions,” confirmed an officer with the Karjat police.

The incident reportedly occurred last week. Lad could be seen in the video footage slapping and threatening deputy collector (land acquisition) Abhay Kalgutkar at a meeting called to settle disputes related to the purchase of land for an oil pipeline project. The locals have opposed the ongoing acquisition of their land for the project. Despite this, Mr Kalgutkar had allegedly summoned the meeting at the Karjat tehsildar’s office to evaluate the cost of the land, said locals.

Mr Lad, along with a group of farmers, had gone to the meeting, when reportedly a fight erupted after disagreement over the compensation. The MLA was seen grabbing Mr Kalgutkar and another officer by their shirts and then slapping the deputy collector.

Mr Kalgutkar, in his complaint to the police, has alleged that Mr Lad caught him by the collar and beat him up. However, the FIR does not mention the MLA’s name. It reads, “While the complainant was on government duty in his office regarding pipeline work, the accused beat him up saying, ‘When farmers don’t want to give their land to the company, you are repeatedly calling them to office by issuing notices,’ and caused obstructions in government work.”