Ahead of mayoral poll in Bhiwandi, ex-mayor held over fraud case

Thane, Feb 14 (PTI) Ahead of the election to the mayor’s post in the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation in Thane district, the head of a local party, which has four corporators, was arrested on Saturday in an alleged fraud case, police said.

The mayoral poll in the Bhiwandi civic body is scheduled for February 20.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Thane police took former mayor Vilas Raghunath Patil, chief of the Konark Vikas Party (KVA), into custody for his alleged involvement in a 2025 financial fraud case. He is accused of cheating people on the pretext of providing them with houses.

Following his arrest, Patil was produced in a Bhiwandi court, which remanded him in police custody for four days, an EOW official said.

The recent election to the 90-member Bhiwandi-Nizampur civic body threw up a fractured verdict, with the Congress emerging as the single-largest party with 30 seats, followed by the BJP (22), Shiv Sena (12), 12 by NCP (SP), Samajwadi Party (6), Patil’s KVA (4), and Bhiwandi Vikas Aghadi (3). One Independent candidate also won. PTI COR NR