Pune: BJP Yuva Morcha’s Maharashtra president Anup More on Thursday resigned from his post, four days after he was named in an FIR filed by a woman party colleague alleging that his supporters issued threats, assaulted and abused her inside a police station in Pimpri Chinchwad.In his resignation letter to BJP state president Ravindra Chavan, More said he was stepping down as the allegations against him, which he termed “false,” were likely to cause damage to the party’s image. “My family has been associated with BJP for over 40 years. We will continue to work for the party,” he said.“I spoke to our party’s state president before resigning and informed him that I will clear my name in this case within the next eight to 10 days, as all the allegations against me are false,” More told TOI, adding that he was not present at the place where the incident allegedly occurred.The woman complainant, a state office-bearer of BJP’s Yuva Morcha, alleged in her complaint on Sunday (October 26) that More’s supporters physically assaulted and abused her on the Chinchwad police station premises. She claimed that they acted on More’s instructions.Initially, police registered a case against seven individuals. More’s name was added to the FIR after the complainant protested at the office of the deputy commissioner of police. The opposition strongly criticised BJP over the incident. NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule on Tuesday accused the police of delaying the registration of the FIR by nearly eight hours. “This incident is a stark example of how the system deals with crimes involving leaders of the ruling party and how women are treated. If women from even the ruling party are not safe and have to struggle to get justice, it is clear that the law and order situation in the state is extremely serious,” Sule stated in a social media post.The NCP (SP)’s Pune city unit on Thursday evening staged a protest on JM Road, condemning the alleged harassment of a woman party leader. The party’s city unit president Prashant Jagtap said, “We may have political differences, but issuing threats to a woman leader is unacceptable. Such incidents raise serious concerns about women’s safety.”
