Maharashtra BJP leader Mohit Kamboj alias Bharatiya has said that Shiv Sena goons attacked his car late on Friday (April 22) night in the Kalanagar area of Mumbai’s Bandra suburb. The BJP leader has also filed a complaint with the Mumbai police in this regard. Kamboj had once alleged that Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ministers have links with “drug mafias”.
Matoshree, Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s private residence, is located in Kalanagar. The area is currently witnessing a gathering of hundreds of Shiv Sainiks to thwart an attempt by Independent Lok Sabha MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana to recite the Hanuman Chalisa on Saturday morning.
Kamboj, who is a former General Secretary of BJP Mumbai and former president of BJP Yuva Morcha claimed that the incident took place on Friday when he was returning from a marriage. “I had gone to attend a wedding and while returning home, my vehicle stopped at a road signal in Kalanagar area. Suddenly, a mob of a few hundred attacked my vehicle and broke its glasses and damaged the door handles,” Kamboj said in a video statement.
Mumbai | My car was attacked at Kalanagar Junction by a mob, we managed to flee. Governance in Maharashtra proving to be worse than Bengal. Opposition leaders who expose corrupt ministers like Nawab Malik are being attacked by state govt…I condemn it: Mohit Kamboj, BJP(22.04) pic.twitter.com/JHHHzXuRaY
— ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2022
The BJP leader claimed that the attack was an attempt to kill him as he had exposed corruption in the BMC (which is ruled by the Sena) and raised his voice against ‘corrupt ministers’ like Nawab Mallik. “This was an attempt to kill me by Shiv Sena and Maharashtra CM, so as to suppress my voice. Will see what action will be taken by Mumbai Police. Everything is recorded on CCTV,” said Kamboj.
“Governance in Maharashtra proving to be worse than Bengal. Opposition leaders who expose corrupt ministers like Nawab Malik are being attacked by the state govt…I condemn it,” he added.
Shrikant Tara Pandit Bharatiya, the OSD to Ex-Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis, uploaded a photo of the BJP leader’s car’s smashed side view mirror and broken handle of the driver’s gate on Twitter.
@mohitbharatiya_ यांच्यावर झालेल्या भ्याड भेकड हल्ल्याचा जेवढ्या वाईट शब्दात निंदा करता येईल तेवढी कमी आहे. मर्दानी छातीवर समोर हल्ला करण्याची महाराष्ट्राची मर्दांगी परंपरा आहे.@MumbaiPolice pic.twitter.com/30z5PCJzgt
— Shrikant Tara Pandit Bharatiya (@ShreeBharatiya) April 22, 2022
Videos of the incident have also circulated on Twitter showing the BJP leader’s car stopping on the side of the road by a traffic cop. Some people are seen running after the car as it speeds away seconds later.
src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#MSDhoni #DCvsRR pic.twitter.com/CzpmFxAuhBI condemn the attack on Hon’ble Shri @mohitbharatiya_ Ji done by coward Shivsainiks !
— Tajinder Singh Tiwana (@TajinderTiwana) April 22, 2022
I’d like to ask is this what Maharashtra is known for?
Is this the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj where raising voice of Hindutva attracts a mob of hundreds hitting your car? pic.twitter.com/FW3vAqlMMO
The BJP leader Mohit Kamboj himself took to Twitter to re-share videos of the incident posted by various social media users and media agencies. He also shared a copy of the complaint filed by him with the Mumbai Police. He Tweeted in Hindi that roughly translates to, “The attack on me yesterday was a part of a plot to kill me. I have filed a complaint with the Mumbai Police, and my demand is that an FIR is filed and that the perpetrators be prosecuted as soon as possible. If the Maharashtra government is intimidating me, I want them to know that I am not frightened of them!”
मेरे ऊपर जो कल हमला हुआ वो मुझे जान से मारने की एक साज़िश थी !
— Mohit Kamboj Bharatiya – मोहित कंबोज भारतीय (@mohitbharatiya_) April 23, 2022
मुंबई पुलिस को मैंने शिकायत दर्ज कराई हैं और मेरी माँग हैं इसपे FIR दर्ज कर दोषी लोगों पे जल्द से जल्द कार्रवाई करे !
अगर मुझे डराने का काम महाराष्ट्र सरकार कर रही है तो मैं बताना चाहता हूँ मैं तुमसे डरता नहीं हूँ ! pic.twitter.com/nIPoMjMTFz
It may be noted that, following Raj Thackeray’s stand on the Azaan row, Mohit Kamboj had started distributing loudspeakers to temples on the occasion of Hanuman Janmotsav on 16th April 2022. Kamboj had said that more than 1,000 loudspeakers will be distributed in temples in the state on the occasion of Hanuman Janmotsav. He has also invited applications for the same from the entire country. He had then, in an interview with Aaj Tak, been quite critical of the Maha Vikas Agadi government in the state on matters such as atrocities against Hindus in Maharashtra and its bias in issuing guidelines on the loudspeaker issue.
Mohit Kamboj alias Bharatiya is the same BJP leader who had recently alleged that Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ministers have links with “drug mafias”. He claimed that Maharashtra minister Aslam Shaikh used to invite drug peddler Kashiff Khan, the MD of Fashion TV India, to his events. Kashiff Khan’s name had surfaced in connection with the Mumbai cruise narcotics seizure case, in which Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested last year.
Last year, following the arrest of Aryan Khan in the drug case, when the Nationalist Congress Party leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik has been casting aspersion on Narcotics Control Bureau zonal director Sameer Wankhede and others, Mohit Kamboj aka Bharatiya had filed a Rs 100-crore defamation suit against him at Bombay High Court.
Kamboj has alleged that the minister made false allegations against him and his family members in connection to the Cordelia cruise drug bust case in which Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested along with others by the NCB on October 2, under section Section 27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Kamboj had given enough opportunity and warnings to Malik to restrain from defaming him which Malik ignored and continued the vendetta.
Nawab Malik, whose son-in-law Sameer Khan was also arrested by NCB in a separate drug case, has been holding press conferences on a daily basis to make new charges like the soap opera. The NCP chief spokesperson also levelled various allegations against Kamboj and his family. He said that Rishab Sachdeva, the brother-in-law of Kamboj and two others were let off by the NCB despite they were present during the alleged rave party on the cruise. Malik claimed that they were detained by NCB and released later on. Kamboj had earlier issued a notice to Malik on October 9 asking him to desist from making defamatory statements. But Malik on October 11 again repeated the same allegation while talking to some news channels. Kamboj sent him a second legal notice on the same day and asked him to prove the allegations.
On Oct 26, Kamboj filed a criminal complaint before the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate at Mazgaon requesting the court to take legal action against Malik under sections 499 and 500 (defamation) of the IPC.
