Kalyan Lawyer Attacked After Alleging Corruption in Mumbai-Delhi Highway Project
Kalyan Lawyer Attacked After Alleging Corruption in Mumbai-Delhi Highway Project
Nilesh Jadhav, a 37-year-old lawyer from Kalyan, was attacked by a group of seven to eight individuals wielding sharp weapons on Tuesday. Jadhav, who had recently accused senior revenue department officials of corruption in compensation payments for the Mumbai-Delhi Highway project, sustained head injuries and is currently receiving treatment at a private hospital in Mumbai. His associate, Sagar Tembhe, is also hospitalized in Kalyan due to injuries from the attack.
The incident occurred around 9 PM on Tuesday when Jadhav and Tembhe were returning from Jadhav’s office at Prem Auto in Kalyan (West). Taking advantage of the darkness, the assailants attacked them with knives and swords. The attackers fled the scene when bystanders began to gather, and the police arrived shortly after to transport the victims to the hospital.
Jadhav had recently held a press conference where he alleged corruption amounting to approximately Rs 200 crore in compensation payments to project-affected persons (PAPs) in Kalyan taluka due to the Mumbai-Delhi Expressway project. He accused senior officials of the revenue department of being involved in the corruption and mentioned receiving threats to his life. The land acquisition for the project has impacted hundreds of acres in the villages of Ambivali, Ubhni, Nandap, Manivali, Waholi, and Raite.
The Mahatma Phule police have registered a case of attempted murder against unknown individuals and are actively searching for the culprits. Shailesh Salvi, Senior Police Inspector at Mahatma Phule police station, stated, “We are searching for the culprits and probing all angles.”
Jadhav’s wife believes the attack is directly linked to his exposure of the irregularities in the compensation distribution for the highway project. “My husband has strong doubts that since he exposed irregularities in the distribution of compensation in the Mumbai-Delhi Highway project, he got attacked. We want police to arrest the culprits,” she said.
