Kalyan East MLA booked for threatening rival cable TV operator

Thane: The Thane police have booked a six people including the Kalyan (E) independant MLA Ganpat Gaikwad on the alleged charges of threatening a cable operator with a revolver and bashing him up, the police said today.

Gaikwad controls the cable TV business in Kalyan town and enjoys much clout among politicians in the district. Assistant police inspector R P Deshmukh of the Kolshewadi police station in Kalyan where the offence is registered said that the persons named in the complaint have been booked under Sections 143,147,148,149,323,451 and 506(2) of the IPC and section 37(1), 135 of the Bombay Police Act. Gaikwad has been accused of threatening one Kiran Nichal (29) with his revolver and getting him bashed up by his men, when he was going door-to-door collecting money for cable TV set-top boxes installed there. Gaikwad`s competitor, Nichal had been charging Rs 800 to Rs 1000 per household for a cable set-top box, but Manoj Mali, one of Gaikwad`s local activists asked him to raise the cost per set-top box to Rs 1500, since that was what Gaikwad charged his cable TV customers. Nichal is understood to have requested Mali to discuss the issue so that they would arrive at a mutually amicable price for the cable TV set-top box. However, Mali refused to listen to his reasoning, and physically assaulted Nichal along with others. In his complaint, Nichal stated that Gaikwad who was also present during the assault, pulled out his revolver and threatened him with dire consequences. Later, Nichal approached the Kolsewadi police and lodged a complaint against Gaikwad, Mali, Shyam Shelke, Datta Gaikwad, Abhimanyu Gaikwad and one Umesh, who is said to be the MLA`s driver. No arrests have been made so far, the police said and added that investigations are on after an offence was registered. PTI