MUMBAI, December 12: The former chairperson of the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) standing committee alleged that he was `framed' in the case of assault for which he was detained by the police.

Nadkarni, who was granted bail, plans to meet Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and Chief Minister Manohar Joshi to apprise them of the issue.

He told Express Newsline that while the police had picked him up on Friday, the records submitted in the court showed that he was arrested on Saturday. However, the Ramnagar police dismissed his claim stating, "Nadkarni has his time confused. If he was arrested in early hours of Saturday it could still be Friday for him. But the calendar and clock say otherwise."

"I had merely tried to mediate in a fight between Deepak Kulkarni (a Sena activist known to be close to Nadkarni) and Naresh Jagne thinking that I could use my good offices to put an end to their enmity," he said. Nadkarni was sent to Adharwadi jail for allegedly beating up Jagne. Sena sources point out that Nadkarni is not exactly popular with Thane-based Sena leader Anand Dighe for his tendency to run to Thackeray directly bypassing Dighe during crisis.

Also, the local Sainiks are believed to have ganged up against him for giving plum contracts to contractors from Ulhasnagar. "Imagine his gall to award contracts to Sindhi contractors when there are quite a few local Maharashtrians vying for the contract," a prominent Sainik from Dombivli said, adding, "May be he will learn a lesson now."

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.