18 BJP councillors arrested for rioting

AHMEDABAD: Eighteeen BJP councillors, including standing committee chairman Nitin Bharadwaj of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation, were on Friday arrested on charges of assaulting city Municipal Commissioner Mukesh Kumar on April 19, police said.

The councillors were held on charges of rioting, obstructing work of government officials and damaging public property, Rajkot police commissioner K Nityanandam said.

Police has also recorded their statements in this regard, he added.

Councillors led by Bharadwaj had barged into the office of the municipal commissioner and had beaten up Kumar, ransacked his office and damaged furniture earlier this week.

State goverment had also set up an inquiry into the incident and had sent senior bureaucrat to Rajkot for investigations.