What began as a car accident near Vadgaon bridge in Pune has now spiralled into a political controversy, drawing in senior Maharashtra leaders and sparking off a debate over political interference, selective targeting, and law enforcement priorities in the state.
The incident, which occurred last week, involved a car colliding with an autorickshaw parked on the roadside.
The crash left the rickshaw driver and two passengers severely injured.
At first, it appeared to be just another unfortunate road accident.
However, the situation took a dramatic turn when it was revealed that the car was registered under the name of popular Lavani performer and folk artiste Gautami Patil.
Though Patil was not in the vehicle at the time of the accident, her name soon found its way into the political crossfire after a video surfaced showing Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Maharashtra's Minister of Higher and Technical Education Chandrakant Patil instructing the Pune deputy commissioner of police to take swift action against the dancer.
In the viral video, Minister Patil can be heard asking the police to immediately seize the car involved in the accident and serve a notice to its owner.
He further insists that the car owner, Gautami Patil, should bear the full cost of medical treatment of the injured victims.
Gautami Patil, who is popular across rural Maharashtra for her energetic stage performances, has often faced criticism for the content in her shows.
The minister's remarks sparked a swift backlash from the Opposition, particularly from Rohit Pawar, MLA of the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar faction.
Taking to X, Pawar accused the minister of misusing his position by pressuring the police to act against Patil, despite her absence from the scene.
In a sharply worded post, Pawar wrote, 'A notorious criminal from your constituency brazenly flees abroad in broad daylight, throwing dust in the eyes of the police, yet it has never been seen that you made a call to the police for his arrest... Pressuring the police to arrest Gautami Patil when she wasn't even in the accident vehicle is not befitting a leader like you.'
Pawar was alluding to Nilesh Ghaywal, who is wanted in multiple criminal cases and recently fled to London.
Chandrakant Patil is the MLA from Kothrud constituency where bullets were found in Ghaywal's house after he escaped to London.
Despite a Look Out Circular being issued, questions have been raised about how Ghaywal managed to obtain a passport.
What began as a car accident has now become the backdrop of a deeper political clash in Maharashtra.
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