Jalna, Apr 1 (PTI) Maharashtra BJP leader and former minister Babanrao Lonikar was booked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly threatening an MSEDCL official and claiming that people from the slum stole electricity.

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An audio clip in which Lonikar can be purportedly heard admonishing an official of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited over snapping of power supply to his Aurangabad residence had gone viral on Wednesday.

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In the clip, he can be purportedly heard telling the official why he was not disconnecting supply to slums where people were stealing electricity.

Lonikar has been booked by Tehsil police station here on the complaint of Jalna Congress chief Dinkar Ghewande, who claimed the statement insults the Dalit community.

Lonikar has said the audio clip is fake and that he had not phoned any MSEDCL official over his power woes.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)