Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad, who has whipped up a row for assaulting an MLA hostel canteen worker, on Friday issued a threat to AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel, saying he would thrash him too. His remarks came after Mr. Jaleel had criticised Mr. Gaikwad for attacking the canteen staffer.

Mr. Jaleel also hit back at Mr. Gaikwad, saying he accepted the Sena MLA’s challenge, and asked him to specify the place and time for their confrontation.

On July 8, Mr. Gaikwad, who represents the Buldhana Assembly constituency, entered into fisticuffs with the canteen staff over ‘stale food’ being delivered to his MLA hostel room. On Wednesday, the State Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspended the outlet’s licence after inspecting the premises.

On Friday, police filed a non-cognizable (NC) complaint against the Buldhana legislator. The move comes after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis instructed police not to wait for a formal complaint to initiate the probe.

After the video of the incident went viral, his violent behaviour drew criticism from across the parties, with the Opposition demanding his arrest. After three days of the incident, the Marine Drive police filed a suo motu complaint against Mr. Gaikwad and one of his aides under sections 115(2), 352 and 3(5) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

“The MLA has been booked under Sections related to voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult, and provoking breach of peace,” said an officer.

Speaking to the media, Mr. Fadnavis said, “Police should probe the matter if it is a cognisable offence and take action.”

Responding to the CM’s statement, Mr. Gaikwad said: “I have taken the law in hand, I will face it. However, I stand by my action as I did nothing wrong. I complained several times about the poor food quality.”

(With inputs from PTI)