PANAJI/BELAGAVI: Former Goa MLA Lavoo Mamledar (68) died in Karnataka’s Belagavi on Saturday after being assaulted by an autorickshaw driver in an instance of road rage. The accused, Amirsuhil Shakilsab Sanadi (26), was arrested and sent to jail.
Mamledar’s car brushed against an autorickshaw in Khade Bazaar area, leading to a heated argument between him and the accused, Belagavi deputy commissioner of police (law and order) Rohan Jagadeesh said.
The auto driver demanded compensation for the damage to his vehicle, which the ex-MLA refused, sparking the altercation, during which he allegedly slapped the former MLA multiple times even as bystanders tried to intervene and stop the assault. Mamledar then walked towards his lodge in Khade Bazaar but suddenly collapsed in the lodge’s reception area. He was rushed to the civil hospital where he was declared dead.
Will ensure a thorough probe: Goa CM on ex-MLA’s death
CCTV footage released following the attack confirmed accounts by eyewitnesses that Mamledar asked the autorickshaw driver to move aside during the argument, after which he was slapped. Lodge owner Addiappa corroborated the same.
Mamledar represented Ponda constituency from 2012 to 2017. He was elected to Goa assembly on a Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party ticket in 2012. Mamledar is survived by his wife and two children. His daughter rushed to Belagavi after the death. Mamledar’s body was transported to Goa late Saturday, after post-mortem. The funeral will be held at the family’s crematorium in Ponda on Sunday afternoon.
Born on Sep 20, 1956, in Ponda, Mamledar began his career in 1981 as a sub-inspector of police during Congress govt’s tenure in Goa.
His three-decades-long police career saw him rise through the ranks to become deputy superintendent of police (traffic). In 2011, Mamledar resigned from his position as DySP and joined MGP, successfully contesting the 2012 assembly elections from Ponda constituency.
He later had a fall out with MGP and contested unsuccessfully on other party tickets.
Goa CM Pramod Sawant said, “The state administration is in close coordination with local authorities in Belagavi to ensure a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident and to bring those responsible to justice.”