Thane police today arrested five persons in connection with the manhandling of Deputy Mayor and city BJP chief Milind Patankar and ransacking of his cabin at the municipal corporation building here earlier this week.
Jagdish Thorat and Satish Pawar (both from Shiv Sena) and Mukesh Shelar, Ramesh Babble and Omkar Naik (all BJP) were produced before the magistrate after the arrest, and were released on a bond of Rs 15,000 each.
They allegedly assaulted Patankar holding him responsible when another BJP corporator voted against Sena-BJP candidate in the election to chairmanship of civic transport committee.
The accused have been charged with unlawful assembly and damaging public property under Indian Penal Code.
Meanwhile, Patankar's whereabouts are yet not known, though the family has not approached the police over the issue. Local activist Dayanand Nene said that he could speak to him on phone; and Patankar told him that he was safe.
However Nene alleged that Patankar might have been speaking under duress.
