On Facebook Live, Uddhav faction leader Abhishek Ghosalkar shot dead in Mumbai; assailant then shoots self

Ghosalkar was immediately rushed to a local private hospital, where he was declared dead before admission.

According to the reports, the assailant-Mauris Noronha, known as ‘Morris-bhai’ among locals, had invited Ghosalkar to a local public event and then conducted a Facebook live interaction for 40 minutes at his office in the IC Colony in Borivali West.

Ghosalkar was seen sitting on a sofa and talking with some online visitors on a mobile positioned on a tripod about local civic issues.

At one point, the assailant came and sat beside Ghosalkar briefly. They were seen warmly interacting before the camera, and then Mauris got up to step outside. According to reports, the two had patched up recently after some disagreement.

Appearing to end the live social media show, Ghosalkar said, “God bless you. We will go outside, and we will start."

As he stood up from the sofa, Mauris suddenly returned, whipped out a revolver, and fired at least three rounds at him.

Shocked by the sudden attack, Ghosalkar was seen screaming, stumbling forward, and falling down.

At least one bullet went into his chest and another in the shoulder, even as videos of the incident with the gunshots were recorded on Facebook Live, which went viral.

Seconds later, Mauris shot himself with at least four bullets and collapsed in a pool of blood, sending shockwaves through the city.

The son of senior SS-UBT leader Vinod Ghosalkar, Abhishek was a former BMC Municipal Corporator from Dahisar Ward No. 7 and was considered among the key second-rung youth leaders of the party.

Top SS-UBT leaders like Aditya Thackeray, Sanjay Raut, and others strongly condemned the murderous attack on their party leader and targeted Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.

Former Union Minister Anant Geete rushed to the hospital to inquire about Ghosalkar’s condition but declined to speak to the media, while top Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders like Leader of Opposition (Assembly) Vijay Wadettiwar, Leader of Opposition (Council) Ambadas Danve, Dr. Jitendra Awhad, Kishore Tiwari, and others slammed the state government for the total breakdown of the rule of law in the state.

Top police officials, including the Additional Commissioner of Police, DCP, ACP, and others, rushed to the double-crime spot and the hospital for investigations.

The entire locality was cordoned off after the incident, and a heavy police battalion was deployed.

[With UNI inputs]