MCOCA invoked in Beed assault case, caste link denied

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, May 19 (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday said the process of invoking the stringent MCOCA has started in the case of a youth who was assaulted by a group of persons in Beed, a video of which has triggered widespread outrage.
According to police, Shivraj Divte was abducted around 4 pm on Friday while he was returning from a religious event in Parli. He was taken to the Ratneshwar temple and attacked with sticks and iron rods. A few locals intervened and saved him.
While the case has drawn parallels with the murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, which was seen as a Maratha-Vanjari tussle, Pawar insisted the latest incident had nothing to do with caste.
"It is a clear case of goondaism," he said while addressing a press conference after the meeting of the District Planning Committee in Beed.
'The chief minister has reviewed the case and necessary instructions have been given. Such behaviour will not be entertained. It does not matter to which political group these persons belong. All the accused will face strict action. The process to implement MCOCA has started," Pawar said.
Talking about other issues, he said a presentation regarding Parli thermal power generation project was made at the meeting.
"There are eight units here and only three of them are operational. A demand has come that the land of the closed projects should be used to install solar panels or erect power plants again. This will be discussed with the CM," he said.
He also said work on development of Ambajogai medical college will be carried out.
"This hospital completed 50 years today and it is the first hospital in Asia that was constructed on a taluka place," Pawar added.
Pawar also reviewed the availability of fertilizers, seed stocks during the Kharif season as well as the farm loan situation.
He said an amount of Rs 40.53 lakh has been approved for a feasibility study for an airport in Beed.
Ahead of the meeting, Pawar visited the Parli Vaijnath temple. During his tour of the region, he was accompanied by state minister Pankaja Munde and NCP MLA Dhananjay Munde.