Pune: FIR Against Ex-BJP Corporator After Constitution Preamble Removed, Structure Demolished Without PCMC Permission
Pune, 23rd October 2026: Sangvi police have registered a case against a former BJP corporator and three others for allegedly removing the Preamble of the Constitution installed at Constitution Chowk in Old Sangvi and vandalising the remaining structure without obtaining permission from the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).
The incident took place on the evening of October 14. The accused include Santosh Baban Kamble (50), a former BJP corporator, a JCB operator and its owner, and a labourer. Kamble’s wife, Trupti Kamble, is a sitting BJP corporator.
According to the complaint filed by Vijay Chandrakant Kamble (52), a resident of Rahatani, the other accused allegedly removed the Preamble installed at the chowk on Santosh Kamble’s instructions and shifted it elsewhere before damaging the remaining structure. The work was allegedly carried out without civic permission.
The incident has sparked a political controversy, with the Congress and progressive social organisations staging an indefinite sit-in protest at Constitution Chowk on Thursday. The protesters demanded action against those responsible, restoration of the damaged structure and reconstruction of the chowk in its original form. They also sought an impartial inquiry and demanded that a sedition case be registered over the alleged disrespect to the Constitution.
Congress leaders, including Narendra Bansode, participated in the protest.
Trupti Kamble said a letter seeking permission to renovate the Constitution-themed traffic island had been submitted to the civic body, but approval was delayed due to the model code of conduct. The renovation work was started before the permission was granted. She said the representation of the Constitution had been kept safely at a Buddha Vihar and denied that it had been disrespected.
Santosh Korad, ward officer of PCMC’s ‘H’ regional office, said the civic body’s engineering department had registered a complaint over the demolition of the Constitution-themed traffic island and that the police were proceeding with the matter.
Senior inspector Jitendra Koli of Sangvi police station said further investigation was underway.
