Hands tied, face covered: Why did a gangster's Pune civic polls nomination bid fail?
Arrested gangster Bandu Andekar and two relatives attempted to file nomination papers for the PMC polls but were unsuccessful due to missing documents. Despite court permission and police escort, they couldn't complete the process, causing disruptions for other candidates.
Image Credit: TOI
PUNE: Arrested gangster Bandu, alias Suryakant Andekar, went to the Bhavani Peth ward office on Saturday to file nomination for the PMC polls but could not complete the process in the absence of requisite papers.His daughter-in-law, Sonali, and sister-in-law Laxmi, also went to the same ward office. They, too, could not submit their nominations.Kalyan Pandhare, the returning officer at the Bhavani Peth ward office, said, "We did not receive any nomination forms from them (Bandu Andekar and his two family members) on Saturday. So, the question of accepting the nominations does not arise. They did not have all the documents required for nomination."
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Also read: Vinay Tyagi’s custodial killing exposes Haridwar’s enduring gang rivalriesA special MCOCA court allowed gangster Andekar and two of his relatives to file nomination papers on Saturday with police escort for the upcoming Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) election. Sporting a black cloth around his head and face, Andekar reached the ward office around 12.30pm amid high police security.He showed a victory sign and screamed, "Neki ka kaam, Andekar ka naam (Do good, Andekar will earn fame)." He walked and waved at people though his hands were tied with ropes.
Deputy commissioner of police (Zone I) Krushikesh Rawale told TOI, "We maintained a tight security around the ward office and no one was allowed to enter it because of security reasons. We followed all the instructions of the court."All three roads leading to the ward office were closed. Police frisked people going there for personal work.Many Independent candidates were made to wait on roads outside the ward office when Andekars were present there.
"I came to the ward office at 11am to file my nomination and saw a lot of police officers at the entrance. They told me to visit later. Due to security issues, I was not let in. I demand more time to file the nomination papers," said Independent candidate Maulana Shahrukh Aziz Khan.Apart from Andekar, his daughter-in-law Sonali and his sister-in-law Laxmi Udaykant Andekar also went to the ward office to file nomination papers for the forthcoming civic elections from the Nana Peth-Bhawani Peth panel as Independent candidates.Sonali and Laxmi, currently lodged in Kolhapur prison, started for Pune in the morning, the police said. Faces covered, the two women reached the ward office by 11.30am.Andekar (70), his son Krushna (40), daughter Vrundavani Wadekar (40), and her two sons, Tushar (27) and Swaraj (23), Sonali, Laxmi, her three sons, Shivam alias Shubham (31), Abhishek (21), and Shivraj (29), were arrested in the Ayush Komkar (18) murder case. Komkar was shot dead in the parking area of his residential building on Sept 5.