Five reportedly abducted amid Latur bank poll rivalry; two booked

• A farmer told police that he and four companions were abducted and threatened during a temple trip amid rivalry over the Latur DCCB elections

• Police registered an FIR against two people after Congress workers protested outside Aurad Shahajani police station

• The Congress-backed Sahkar Panel faces a Mahayuti-backed challenger in the bank’s 12 November polls

Police have registered a case against two people after a farmer complained that he and four companions were abducted and threatened during a journey to a temple in Karnataka, amid rivalry over the forthcoming Latur District Central Co-operative Bank elections.

The incident reportedly took place on Sunday evening, ahead of the bank’s 12 November polls. The Congress-controlled institution has 19 directors on its board.

According to his police complaint, Vinod Rajendra Veer, 38, and four others left Nilanga in Latur district in a four-wheeler to visit a temple at Mailar in Karnataka during Diwali.

Near a bridge at Aurad Shahajani, police personnel stopped their vehicle after receiving information about a possible abduction. Veer said the group explained that they were travelling together for a religious visit, after which the officers left.

A car intercepted them shortly afterwards, the complaint stated. A man and an unidentified accomplice reportedly forced all five into the car, claimed links to a former minister’s relative and threatened to shoot them if they raised an alarm.

Veer told police that the two took the group towards Kasarshirsi and questioned them about their identities and involvement in the bank elections.

After finding out that Veer and one of his companions were not voters in the polls, the accused dropped the pair near Kasarshirsi bus stand and warned them against speaking about the incident, according to the complaint. The account did not specify what subsequently happened to the other three.

Congress workers gathered outside Aurad Shahajani police station on Monday evening, demanding registration of a case.

An official said police registered the FIR on Monday night under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 140(3), relating to kidnapping, 351(2) and 351(3), concerning criminal intimidation, and 3(5), dealing with common intention.

The election pits the Congress-backed Sahkar Panel against the Rayateche Raje Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Parivartan Panel, supported by the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance.

With PTI inputs