No talk yet on bringing VBA into MVA fold: Sharad Pawar

NCP supremo reiterates MVA alliance with Thackeray-led Sena, Congress for civic polls

First India Bureau

Kolhapur: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar on Saturday said that no talks have been held among the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents about taking the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) on board, so far.

This comes days after Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena –Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction and Prakash Ambedkar’s VBA forged an alliance for upcoming civic polls in Maharashtra.

Pawar said the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Thackeray-led Sena will contest the upcoming elections together. He was talking to reporters at Kolhapur in western Maharashtra.

Responding to a query about the Sena -UBT and VBA’s alliance, the former Union minister said, “No talks were held (in the MVA) regarding Prakash Ambedkar’s VBA ahead of the elections. We do not know what is going on between the two parties...we will not discuss anything over it.”

“Congress, NCP and Thackeray-led Sena will together contest upcoming elections. We have not held any discussion with Ambedkar,” he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has re- portedly said that it will seek MVA’s support so that the upcoming bypolls to the Kasba and Chinchwad Assembly seats in Pune are held unopposed.

By-elections are necessitated as the sitting BJP MLAs from these seats died recently.

When asked about it, Pawar said, “I don’t know to whom (state BJP chief) Chandrakant Patil is writing a letter about it. I have no information on that. I don’t know how he didn’t

Teen out on walk raped by two fake cops in Dombivli

First India Bureau

Thane: Officials are on the hunt for two men who allegedly raped a 17-year-old girl while posing as police personnel in Thane district.

The minor had been taking a walk with her boyfriend near a creek in Dombivli town of Kalyan taluka at around 1.30 pm on Friday, when they were accosted by two men who claimed to be police personnel.

The accused allegedly first warned the minor and her friend against “wandering in the area” and then took the girl into a nearby forested area, where they took turns raping her. One of them shot a video of the act and threatened to circulate it.

The traumatized victim later approached the police and lodged a complaint, he said.

A case under Section 376(D) (gangrape) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) and Information Technology Acts has been registered. Efforts are on to nab the accused who are absconding, said SI PM Bhalerao.