Mumbai: Youths try to drown SI during idol immersion

In the latest in a series of incidents of attacks on policemen in Maharashtra, four youths of a Ganesh Utsav mandal allegedly tried to drown a sub-inspector in Kalyan township of Thane. Raising the safety of police personnel as a matter of serious concern, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray today met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, seeking protection to law enforcers and strict punishment to attackers. Uddhav spelled out his concerns on a day when the purported video of a policeman being pushed into a lake and four youths of a local Ganesh Utsav mandal trying to drown him in Kalyan township of Thane district went viral. The youths had earlier objected to being disciplined by police sub-inspector Niteen Dondu Dagale. During immersion of the Ganpati idols last evening, Dagale (38), attached to Kolsewadi Police Station in Kalyan, was on bandobust duty at Teesgaon Talao of the town. As he was controlling the crowd assembled for the immersion, some members of Jari Mari Ganesh Utsav mandal, who were asked to follow the queue system, objected to being disciplined and picked up a quarrel with Dagale. Later, the youths allegedly pushed him into the lake. When Dagale struggled to come out of the water, one of the youths jumped in and again allegedly tried to drown him, but he managed to save himself by swimming out of the lake, police said. The video also showed people indulging in revelry with no one coming to the rescue of the police officer. The Kolsewadi Police has registered offences against the four accused under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) read with 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention). A manhunt has been launched to nab the youths. The Shiv Sena chief met Fadnavis at his official residence over the concerns harboured by families of policemen in wake of the recent attacks on police personnel. The Chief Minister said the government will consider all demands of the families of police personnel. The police families residing in Worli's BDD chawl had expressed their anger over the attack on traffic constable Vilas Shinde, who was allegedly beaten up by two youths following which he succumbed to his injuries on August 31. Shinde was hit on head with a wooden plank allegedly by a juvenile after he asked the latter for vehicle documents at a petrol pump in suburban Khar. A day after he died, a helmet-less rider rammed into a traffic constable at Kurla in Mumbai when the policeman attempted to stop him at a nakabandi. In another incident, a traffic constable was injured at a traffic junction in Thane when he tried to stop a vehicle on September 2. Uddhav, who was accompanied by a few Sena ministers, including Minister of State for Home Deepak Keskarkar, and the families of policemen, later told reporters that "I think the Home Department needs a separate minister to check attacks on police." "I demanded three things from the CM -- safety of cops in state, proper implementation of law, and strict punishment to attackers," he said. MNS chief Raj Thackeray had also recently spoken against the incident and met the families of policemen. Later, Fadnavis, who holds the Home portfolio, said the government will consider all demands of the families of police personnel. He informed them of various initiatives taken by the state government for police welfare, including full day salary for working on holiday, inclusion of police in PM Awas Yojna and provision of Rs 2,000 crore for police housing this year. He also assured them of setting up of a committee to address their issues and inclusion of their family members in the panel. Fadnavis also informed that the government is working on some unique initiatives for police health, and to increase interaction between police and public. A skill training programme for wives of policemen is also being planned. PTI