MUMBAI: The Hardik Patel of Maharashtra knows what he is up against.
Maratha reservation leader Sanjiv Bhor says the Fadnavis government wants to defuse the agitation as early as possible by levying false cases against workers. “I might be the softest available target for them,” says Sanjiv Bhor.
Bhor was slapped with a showcause notice recently asking him why he should not be banned in Ahmednagar, Nashik, Pune, Solapur, Beed and Aurangabad because of his “criminal background”.
Sanjiv Bhor fears that other workers might face similar action. Bhor has several charges against him since over the past decade, including attempt to murder, extortion and creating communal tension.
“I’ve been fighting for the cause of farmers and against the sand mafia for the last 13-14 years. Several cases were filed by the mafia against me,” said Bhor, who is in his early 40s.
He claims the 2013 charge of attempt to murder was managed by some corrupt police officers. “Some people were misusing the law and making money. I started exposing them. I’ve earned many enemies, and some of them are in police,” Bhor added. “I’m a humble worker who is working for my (Maratha) community. I’m not the leader.”
A diploma holder in industrial electronics, he worked as an executive with an MNC before he decided to become a government contractor and work for the cause of the community in 2009.