Ex-Goa MLA dies shortly after physical altercation with auto driver in Belagavi | Bangalore News
Former Goa MLA Lavoo Suryaji Mamledar, who represented the Ponda constituency from 2012 to 2017, died shortly after a physical altercation with an autorickshaw driver in Karnataka’s Belagavi on Saturday afternoon.
According to the police, the 69-year-old was travelling to Belagavi and had booked a suite in a hotel in Khade Bazar. As his car navigated a narrow curve, it allegedly brushed against an autorickshaw, leading to an argument between Mamledar and the auto driver.
The driver allegedly demanded compensation for the damage, which Mamledar refused to pay before proceeding towards his hotel, police said.
However, the autorickshaw driver followed him to the hotel and allegedly struck him several times once he exited his car. Mamledar later collapsed on the hotel premises and was rushed to the emergency section of the government civil hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Belagavi City DCP Rohan Jagadeesh confirmed that the driver has been taken into custody, and an investigation is underway.
Authorities are also probing the exact cause of death and whether he had underlying health conditions.
Lavoo Mamledar, a retired police officer, was elected as an MLA from South Goa’s Ponda constituency on a Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) ticket in the 2012 assembly elections.
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In the 2017 assembly polls, he contested from Ponda again on an MGP ticket but lost. A strong critic of MGP president Deepak Dhavalikar and his brother and incumbent Marcaim MLA Sudin Dhavalikar, Mamledar was later expelled for anti-party activities.
In 2021, he joined the Trinamool Congress but quit the party after three months, accusing the party of being communal and trying to create a divide between Hindus and Christians in the state.
In January 2022, ahead of assembly polls in the state, he joined the Congress. He contested from the Marcaim constituency but lost the 2022 elections.
In a post on X, Amit Patkar, the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president, said, “Deeply saddened by the passing away of former MLA and INC Goa candidate Lavoo Mamledar. Heartfelt condolences to his family members and friends. May God give them the strength to bear this loss and may his soul rest in peace.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
