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The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Thursday fired a fresh salvo at Minister of State for Home (MoS) Yogesh Kadam, demanding his removal from the cabinet and threatening legal action if the government fails to act.

UBT leader Anil Parab accused Kadam, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena MLA from Dapoli (Ratnagiri), of misusing his position to approve an arms licence for Sachin Ghaywal, brother of Pune-based gangster Nilesh Ghaywal. “Police had rejected Sachin application for an arms licence. However, while hearing the review petition, Yogesh Kadam approved it,” Parab said. According to police, Nilesh is believed to have fled the country, while Sachin is untraceable.

Parab has urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, to remove Kadam from the council of ministers. “We want to give the CM the first chance to act against a minister who has misused his power and repeatedly courted controversy. If Fadnavis fails to take action, we will move court against Yogesh Kadam,” Parab added. Kadam has been in the news earlier for alleged links to a Kandivli dance bar and illegal sand mining in Ratnagiri — charges he has denied.

Responding to the latest controversy, Kadam said he approved the arms licence because “no pending cases were found against the applicant at the time of the review hearing”. Defending his son, senior Shinde Sena leader Ramdas Kadam said, “The UBT camp has only one agenda — to target Yogesh.”