Charged in two criminal cases, Rajkot BJP’s four-time corporator turns sanyasi

"A sitting BJP corporator of Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC), who has faced criminal cases, turned sanyasi Sunday, in the presence of Chief Minister Anandi Patel and her cabinet ministers. Mahendra Solanki, a four-time sitting corporator from Ward 19 of RMC, took the “holy order” from Jivrajbapu, head of Satadhar, a religious place in Junagadh district at a ceremony organised at Aapa Gigano Otla, some 45 km from Rajkot in Surendranagar district... A builder by profession, Solanki was the deputy mayor of Rajkot in 2010 and the standing committee chairman during 2011-12. Son of an industrialist, Solnaki used to run his construction business under the banner of Shri Jivraj. His two sons and a daughter are in school... In 2006, Solanki and 24 others were booked for rioting and criminal assault on a public servant. A group of people had allegedly ransacked the office of the Rajkot municipal commissioner. He was arrested by Rajkot city police in 2008 for causing hurt with dangerous weapons under Arms Act after he allegedly fired a gun in Mavdi Chowk area in connection with a property dispute. Last year, he was questioned by police in connection with the alleged mass suicide by five members of a Nepalese family on the premises ofRMC office. However, he has not been charge-sheeted in this case..." (Read full article.)