Maharashtra: AIMIM corporator Sayed Mateen, who refused to pay tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, arrested

The meeting on Friday witnessed a ruckus when a dozen-odd Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporators assaulted AIMIM member Sayed Mateen.

Maharashtra: AIMIM corporator Sayed Mateen, who refused to pay tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, arrested

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) member Sayed Mateen was arrested on Saturday in Maharashtra's Aurangabad for opposing a condolence resolution on former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation general body meeting.

The veteran leader, who passed away on Thursday in Delhi's AIIMS hospital at the age of 93, had been suffering from ailments for several years.

Mateen has been arrested on charges of hurting religious sentiments, hurting communal harmony and inciting riots.

Along with him, AIMIM District President Jawed Qureshi was also arrested. A case has been lodged against him for obstructing police work, causing obstruction in government work and threatening the police.

Besides this, a case has also been registered against BJP's councillor Pramod Rathod, Vijay Udade, Raj Wankhede, who thrashed Mateen.

The meeting on Friday witnessed a ruckus when a dozen-odd Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporators assaulted Mateen for refusing to pay tribute to Vajpayee.

The AIMIM said the opposition to the resolution was not the stand of the party but demanded action against the corporators involved in the assault.

Shortly after the house convened, BJP corporators led by Rahul Vaidya moved a condolence resolution on Vajpayee`s death, which was opposed by AIMIM's Sayed Mateen.

Livid at this, 10-12 BJP corporators, including some women members, pulled Mateen from his seat, slapped, punched and even one of them kicked him repeatedly, even when he fell on the floor, shows a video by news agency ANI.

Even as other corporators attempted to rescue Mateen, the municipal corporation`s security officials rushed in and whisked him to safety through a side exit and later to a hospital.

The CCTV video of the incident went viral on the social media. The assault sparked angry reactions outside as alleged AIMIM supporters indulged in stone-pelting to damage local BJP leader Baburao Deshmukh`s car and injured his driver.

Several BJP corporators, including Vaidya and Pramod Rathod, urged the Mayor to suspend Mateen for his "anti-national move" to oppose the resolution. Mateen demanded that the Mayor take strict action against his attackers.

Mateen maintained that he was opposing the motion in a democratic manner, but the BJP members chose to respond by attacking him.

Legislator Imtiaz Jaleel of the AIMIM -- which has 25 corporators in the AMC -- met the city Police Commissioner and demanded a thorough probe into the assault.