Mumbai: Padamsinh Patil, the NCP MP from Osmanabad and once a party strongman has been booked for murder by the CBI.
He is accused of killing his cousin and Congressman Pawanraje Nimbalkar, once a close aide. Nimbalkar was shot dead in 2006 after the two leaders had fallen out.
The arrest is a ready tool for the Opposition. While the Congress was muted, the NCP offered a careful defence.
"We have full confidence in him but we will have to wait for legal aspects to be clarified," NCP leader Tariq Anwar said.
But for the Nimbalkar family, this day came after a long wait. Patil's name had surfaced soon after the murder. But it was only after the CBI took over the case, that there was a breakthrough.
Two of the accused arrested -- the alleged hitman Parasmal Jain and Dombivali corporator Mohan Shukla -- had named Patil as the main conspirator and alleged that he ordered the contract killing.
All along, Patil had maintained he was being victimized, a claim he sticks to even now.
A lot depends on what evidence the CBI has against Padamsinh Patil beyond the statements of those arrested. But this arrest is a huge blow to the image of the NCP in a state that's soon heading for assembly elections.