Mumbai, July 18: A dramatic political face-off unfolded late Thursday night at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan Police Station, where NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) MLA Rohit Pawar confronted police officials over the unexplained detention of party worker Nitin Deshmukh.
The incident followed a physical clash earlier in the day inside the Maharashtra Assembly between supporters of BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar and senior NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad. Deshmukh, a close aide of Awhad, was reportedly assaulted and later detained under unclear circumstances.
Rohit Pawar launched a night-long search for Deshmukh and eventually landed at Azad Maidan Police Station, demanding answers. A video from the station shows Pawar visibly agitated during a heated argument with a sub-inspector, warning, “Lower your voice. If you can’t answer respectfully, don’t speak at all.”
Senior police officers intervened to defuse the situation, which had escalated in front of a gathering crowd.
Addressing the media after the standoff, Pawar defended his conduct and slammed the police for their lack of transparency. “For four hours, we were misled. All we wanted was information about Deshmukh’s location. Once we reached the right station, it took five minutes,” Pawar said, alleging political pressure behind the police actions.
He further raised concerns about the treatment of common citizens, saying, “If police misbehave with elected MLAs, imagine their conduct with ordinary people. They might get slapped for simply asking questions.”
The confrontation video has since gone viral on social media, sparking widespread public debate on police accountability and the growing influence of politics in law enforcement procedures.
