Pune: The Swargate police detained four members of a right-wing organisation and later served them notices before releasing them late on Monday night for allegedly assaulting Congress spokesperson Hanumant Pawar.One of the detained men holds a firearm licence issued in Dec 2022. Deputy commissioner of police (Zone II) Milind Mohite said, “As part of standard operating procedures, we have written to the police commissioner’s office detailing the offence and how the weapon was allegedly used in the crime. As per the FIR, the weapon was used to threaten Pawar. The commissioner’s office will decide whether the licence should be cancelled or suspended.“On Monday night, Swargate police registered a case of rioting and voluntarily causing hurt against six men affiliated with the right-wing organisation for allegedly beating up Pawar.According to the police, Pawar and the six members of the organisation had participated in an online debate at the office of a media house at Mitra Mandal Chowk. The debate centred on statements made by some senior Congress leaders. After the debate concluded, Pawar and the six men left the venue. Around 5pm, as they reached the footpath outside the media office, the argument resumed and the six men allegedly assaulted Pawar.On Tuesday morning, a delegation of Congress party workers met senior police officers at the CP’s office and demanded security for Pawar. They also submitted a memorandum.Meanwhile, Tushar Damgude, who has been named as one of the accused and holds the firearm licence, told TOI, “In the last couple of debates, Pawar had abused me and used vile words against my colleagues and me. He repeated the same words on Monday evening, and what happened was a reaction to that.”Damgude, who is the first complainant in the Elgar Parishad case, added, “I hold a valid firearm licence. The CCTV footage clearly shows that I neither used the weapon nor pulled it out during the altercation. The allegations are a political stunt by Congress members to defame me.”
