Road trip to Delhi: After being barred by airlines, Shiv Sena MP Gaikwad travels by car

Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, who has been barred by all major domestic airlines for assaulting an Air India duty manager, has chosen to travel by road to Delhi for the ongoing Parliament session.

"Gaikwad is reaching Delhi by car today but will not attend the day's proceedings of the Lok Sabha," sources close to the beleaguered Osmanabad MP said.

However, he will attend Thursday's session if his party leadership allows him to do so, the sources said.

The development came after Gaikwad apparently booked a seat from Hyderabad to Delhi on Flight AI 551 for Wednesday, which was cancelled by the national carrier.

He had also booked a seat on Tuesday on the 8 AM flight, AI 806, from Mumbai to Delhi for Wednesday but his ticket was promptly cancelled by the airline.

The MP is accused of beating up an elderly AI staffer with a sandal last Thursday. Also, there were reports that he took a train from Mumbai to Delhi and was scheduled to reach the national capital on Wednesday after a TV channel on Tuesday showed the reservation chart, having his name, pasted on coach A-3 of Rajdhani at the Mumbai Central Railway Station.

However, the sources said he decided to travel by car to Delhi. "He is not in Maharashtra at present and is expected to reach Delhi anytime today," they said.