Amid the ongoing political controversy over the murder of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed district, yet another controversy is brewing between the two Shiv Senas in coastal Sindhudurg district over the abduction and murder of a young man.
The two Senas on Tuesday exchanged barbs over the murder of Siddhivinayak Bidwalkar, who was abducted in March 2023 from Chendvan village in Kudal tehsil of Sindhudurg district over a dispute related to payment of Rs 22,000 linked to illegal liquor business. Last week, a video went viral showing Bidwalkar being beaten before his murder. On April 9, police registered a case of abduction and murder, and arrested four accused Siddhesh Shirsat, Ganesh Narvekar, Sarvesh Kerkar and Amol Shirsat as they were named by relatives of Bidwalkar as suspects.
Former Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Vaibhav Naik on Tuesday alleged that Siddhesh Shirsat is a member of the Shiv Sena led by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and campaigned for MLA Nilesh Rane during elections. In his defence, Rane alleged that Shirsat worked for Naik earlier and “Naik should tell as to where the body was disposed after the murder”.
Naik alleged the abduction happened around two years back but the video went viral now due to disputes among the accused. “There is no law and order in Sindhudurg and the situation there is like Beed. Bidwalkar was abducted two years back and was brutally murdered by Shirsat and his men. Shirsat works for the Shiv Sena led by Shinde for the last two years and he also campaigned in the elections for Nilesh Rane and earlier in the Lok Sabha election too. Though Shirsat is accused of murder, leaders from the Shinde faction tried to protect him and put pressure on the police. People should know who from the Shinde faction is trying to protect the accused,” Naik said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said the party has taken the matter seriously. “We might visit Sindhudurg in the coming days,” said Raut, while speaking to reporters in Nashik.
Rane posted a video refuting the allegations by Naik. “There are many photographs available which show Naik and Shirsat together. I joined Shiv Sena only a few months back and when the abduction and murder happened I was in BJP and not in Shiv Sena. So Vaibhav Naik knows all the businesses and activities of Siddhesh Shirsat and Naik must know where the body of Bidwalkar is,” Rane said.
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