BJP corporator and planning committee chairperson Sambhaji Shinde was allegedly pushed down the steps at the Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council headquarters during a dispute with contractor Bharat Navgire, according to a report by Loksatta. Shinde was subsequently taken to the Badlapur Rural Sub-District Hospital for treatment.
The incident reportedly took place near the entrance to the municipal council’s administrative building. Loksatta reported that Shinde and Navgire were discussing pending contractor bills when Navgire allegedly pushed the corporator. A video circulating on social media appears to show Shinde falling down the steps and landing on a car parked below. People present at the location were seen helping him after the fall, according to the report.
Shinde told Loksatta that Navgire had questioned him about bills pending with the municipal council. Shinde said he told the contractor that he was not responsible for the bills and advised him to raise the matter directly with the civic administration. He alleged that Navgire then pushed him during the discussion.
Shinde said he suffered injuries to his head, neck and back. He also called for strict police action, according to the report. Loksatta did not publish details of a police complaint, arrest or formal case status in the material available for this report.
Navgire, identified in the report as a Shiv Sena branch head and contractor, disputed Shinde’s account. He alleged that his bills had been withheld for about a year because he had contested an election against the municipal president’s husband. Navgire also alleged that demands had been made for a 50% commission and that he had been asked to share work with political supporters. These allegations were not independently established in the report.
The altercation comes amid continuing political tension inside the municipal council following a change in local power. The Bharatiya Janata Party recently came to power in the council, while Ruchita Ghorpade was directly elected as municipal president, according to Loksatta. The report said disputes between Shiv Sena and BJP representatives had surfaced during earlier council meetings as well.
The two sides have also traded allegations over municipal works. BJP representatives had sought inquiries into works carried out during the earlier administrative period, while Shiv Sena representatives had begun seeking inquiries into works undertaken during the BJP’s tenure, the report said. The dispute over pending bills has now become part of that wider conflict.
The next confirmed steps are expected to involve the police response to Shinde’s complaint, if filed, and any official statement from the Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council or local authorities regarding the incident and the contractor’s allegations.
