Belagavi: After dodging the police for 10 days, BJP MLA Raju Kage was caught hiding in a resort near Pune on Thursday morning.
Kage, along with his family, was on the run since January 9 after an FIR was filed by Belagavi police in connection with a brutal attack by Kage and his family members on a local resident of Kagwad.
Based on a tip off, Belagavi police raided the resort, located about 50-km from Pune city, and found that all the six members of Kage family were staying there for the last 10 days.
The arrested members of Kage family include Siddagouda Kage, Prasad Kage, Bahubali (car driver), the MLAs daughter, Trupti Kage, and his sister-in-law Shobha Kage.
The police are expected to produce the six arrested to a local court in Athani late on Thursday.
Sources in Kagwad said the MLA used to get into quarrel with local people of his constituency and verbally abuse them.
He had indulged in similar attacks in the past, but had gone Scot-free with police officials not daring to arrest him.
In 2009, a dharna was staged in his constituency after he allegedly attacked a Congress leader. However, the police officials did not take action against him.
On January 1, the MLA, along with some of his supporters and family members had forcibly brought Vivek Shetty, a resident of Kagwad, to their godown in the town and brutally assaulted him.
Shetty was severely injured and sustained fractures in his arms and legs as he was beaten with sticks and sharp weapons.
The Kage family and supporters had allegedly threatened Shetty family against filing of a police case after the attack.
However, on January 9 a local news channel aired the video clippings of Kage's family beating up Shetty.
When the police came under pressure to arrest them, all the 13 accused, including the six arrested on Thursday, fled Kagwad.
Four special teams were formed by Belagavi police to trace the accused on January 10, but they got a breakthrough only on Thursday.
During the preliminary interrogation of the accused, the police are able to get clues regarding the whereabouts of the other accused and hope to arrest them soon.
