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New Bombay woman corporator set afire

Even as New Bombay municipal corporator Meena More, who was set ablaze on Monday night after a minor squabble, battles for life in hospital, members of the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance clashed with the opposition Congress in the Maharashtra legislative council on the political affiliation of the three accused.

Led by Neela Desai and Arvind Savant, both Sena, the alliance members forced adjournment of the house twice amid uproarious scenes.

They demanded suspension of question hour and immediate discussion of the murderous attack on the Nagri Vikas Aghadi (Civic Development Front) politician. They also raised slogans against the Congress, alleging that the accused were activists of that party.

Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde, who made a statement when Chairman N S Pharande allowed some members from both sides to speak on the incident, said the three men who have been arrested -- Yogendra Pandey, Rakesh Tiwari, and Bappi Bhattacharya -- all belong to the Congress.

This was hotly contested by Leader of the Opposition Chhagan Bhujbal and former minister Vasant Chavan. They said the accused were in no way associated with the Congress.

Munde said More, an elected member of the New Bombay Municipal Corporation, suffered 77 per cent burns and is in a critical state.

According to him, the incident was a sequel to a dispute over a stand-post for water supply in Chinchpada slum in Airoli, a district in New Bombay.

Munde said the three men doused More with kerosene and set her ablaze when she was going towards a telephone booth.

He said Pandey is a joint secretary of the ward unit of the Congress while Tiwari is booth president. He also said Pandey has a criminal record.

Earlier, Bhujbal said his party condemns the incident. He called for severe punishment for the accused. But Sena members jeered when he said councillors must rise above partisan politics and unanimously condemn such acts. One member even called him a hypocrite.

UNI

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