Senior CPI leader Govind Pansare, who led a campaign against road toll tax, and his wife were on Monday shot at by motorcycle-borne assailants near their house, prompting widespread condemnation of the incident.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and NCP chief Sharad Pawar were among the first to condemn the attack on Pansare, who was at the forefront of a recent anti-toll agitation in Kolhapur.
The assailants fired at Pansare and his wife this morning outside the Ideal Housing Society, when the couple was returning after their daily morning walk from Shivaji University.
While Pansare suffered bullet injuries on the nape of his neck and his hand, his wife Sau Uma Pansare suffered a single bullet injury, Kolhapur Superintendent of Police, Omprakash Sharma said.
They were rushed to Aster Aadhar Hospital here. Pansare is said to be in a critical condition while his wife is out of danger, police said.
Fadnavis said ten police teams have been formed to nab the culprits. Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray spoke to the Chief Minister, demanding that the assailants be nabbed.
later, Minister of State for Home Ram Shinde left for Kolhapur to take stock of the incident.