Pune City Police have filed an FIR against nearly 50 BJP workers, including city president Dhiraj Ghate and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Pune chief Dushyant Mohol, for allegedly pelting stones and causing damage at Congress Bhavan. The FIR was registered on Saturday at Shivajinagar Police Station following a complaint by 42-year-old homemaker Prachi Nitin Dudhane, a resident of Karve Nagar.
The complainant alleged, "On February 15, between 12:30 pm and 2 pm, a group led by Pune city office-bearers of the Bharatiya Janata Party gathered at Congress Bhavan, raised slogans, pelted stones, injured three workers of the Congress party and damaged vehicles."
A stone-pelting incident broke out near Congress Bhavan, the Pune headquarters of the Congress party, on Sunday afternoon after BJP and Congress workers confronted each other over a remark by Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal regarding Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Tipu Sultan.
Police confirmed that the FIR named Pune city BJP president Dhiraj Ghate, youth president Dushyant Mohol, and around 50–60 other party workers. No arrests were reported so far. The case was filed under BNS Sections 118(1), 189(2), 189(3), 324(4), 191(2), along with relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act. Senior police officials visited the site and collected electronic evidence, and the investigation is ongoing.
The clash followed an FIR against Sapkal over his alleged comparison of Tipu Sultan to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, made while discussing a controversy surrounding a Tipu Sultan portrait at the Malegaon deputy mayor’s office. BJP city president Ghate filed a complaint, claiming the statement hurt the sentiments of those who revere the Maratha king.
BJP workers, led by local leaders, staged a protest outside Congress Bhavan, while Congress supporters gathered in defense of their state president. As tensions escalated around 1 pm, stone-pelting occurred, injuring several people and damaging vehicles. Multiple police teams were deployed to control the situation.