Shiv Sena MLA Anil Kadam, who was recently caught on camera abusing women staffers at a toll booth and subsequently booked for molestation, was briefly arrested before released on bail by a local court today, police said.
In a television footage of the incident, Kadam was purportedly shown squabbling with employees of the booth on the Mumbai-Agra highway, which triggered outrage.
Following the incident, which coincided with the Mumbai gangrape of a photojournalist on August 22, Kadam sent in his resignation from the assembly membership to party president Uddhav Thackeray on August 24.
After the Pimpalgaon Baswant court rejected his anticipatory bail application and remanded him in judicial custody today, Kadam was arrested by police. He then submitted a bail application which was accepted.
He was released on a personal bond of Rs 15,000, police said.
A case under section 354 (a) (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) besides various sections of IPC for criminal intimidation, breach of peace and forceful trespass was registered against Kadam by Pimpalgaon Baswant police on the complaint of the toll booth manager Vasundhara Rao.
The MLA apparently lost his cool when the booth staff asked him to pay the road tax unaware that he is a legislator as he was not carrying his identity card at the time of the incident.
Members of state legislature are exempted from paying toll.
The footage showed Kadam purportedly abusing female staff and damaging a computer and chairs.
Meanwhile, addressing a party rally here yesterday, Uddhav Thackeray said he would take a call on Kadam's resignation after going through the footage even as he termed the unruly MLA as "a man from the cultured family".
