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हिन्दी 
Mumbai: Former home minister and NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh sustained a head injury on Monday as unidentified people pelted stones at his car while he was returning to Katol near Nagpur in the evening. Harrsh Poddar, superintendent of police (SP), Nagpur rural, said Deshmukh’s CT scan was normal and he is being treated for shallow injuries at Alexis Superspeciality Hospital in Nagpur.
Speaking to HT shortly after the attack, Poddar said the assailants were yet to be identified. “I am headed to the spot. The deputy SP and inspector are already there and we have launched a probe,” he said.
The 74-yer-old Deshmukh, home minister in the previous Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, was arrested by the enforcement directorate in 2021 over charges of money laundering and corruption and is currently out on bail. His son Salil Deshmukh is the NCP (SP) candidate from Katol and the senior leader has been campaigning full time in the constituency.
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MVA supporters marched to the Katol police station soon after the incident demanding immediate arrest of the assailants. The mobilisation continued till late in the evening, prompting Salil Deshmukh to request them to disperse from the spot.
Senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat condemned the attack and took potshots at BJP leader and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds charge of the home department and is from Nagpur district. “There is no law and order in the district from which the home minister hails. I want immediate intervention from the election commission,” he said.
NCP (SP) chief spokespersons Mahesh Tapase too said the election commission must take cognisance of the attack on Deshmukh. “A former home minister is pelted with stones. One has to see if it is politically motivated,” he said.
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NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule said the attack was unfortunate and alarming. “I condemn it. No one ever attacked rivals during elections in the past, but law and order is bad in Nagpur district,” she said in a post on social media platform X.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the police must probe if there was a conspiracy or plot to kill the former home minister. “Some days back, he came out with a book where he revealed many things. I condemn the attack on him,” he said.
