"Occurred Due To Personal Enmity": Devendra Fadnavis On Facebook Live Murder

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday sought to counter the Opposition's charge of a deteriorating law and order situation in the state, and said the recent incidents of firing occurred due to personal enmity between the accused and the victims.

Talking to reporters, Mr Fadnavis, who handles the home portfolio, said strict action will be taken against those found guilty in these crimes.

Mr Fadnavis has come under sharp attack from the opposition after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Abhishek Ghosalkar was shot dead in Mumbai during a Facebook Live session on Thursday. Last week, a BJP MLA shot at a leader of Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena from Kalyan.

"Whatever incidents have taken place, they occurred due to personal enmity. I don't disagree that they are serious in nature, but it is wrong to link crimes (that occurred) due to personal disputes to law and order," the senior BJP leader said.

On Saturday, Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray demanded dismissal of the Maharashtra government over law and order in the state and also sought imposition of President's rule.

Mr Ghosalkar (40), son of Sena (UBT) leader Vinod Ghosalkar, was shot dead by local businessman and social activist Mauris Noronha during the Facebook Live session on Thursday evening. Noronha later killed himself, according to police.

Earlier, BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad shot and injured a local leader of the Shinde-led Sena at a police station in Ulhasnagar near Mumbai on February 2 over a land dispute and political rivalry.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday too attacked the BJP over incidents in Maharashtra where Ghosalkar was shot dead and the car of a journalist assaulted, alleging that law and order have "collapsed" and "goonda raj" was being spread under the Eknath Shinde-led government.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)