Ahmedabad: Two days after a chartered accountant accused a fellow CA of assaulting him at the GIFT City Club over an ICAI election-related dispute, the other CA has filed a counter-complaint alleging assault and death threats.Dabhoda police said Purushottam Khandelwal lodged a complaint against Bishan Shah on Friday, claiming that the latter assaulted him during an argument at the club and threatened to kill him. Khandelwal alleged that the dispute was not linked to election but to seating arrangements on the dais during the CFO Elevate 2.0 meeting at GIFT City on Wednesday.According to Khandelwal’s complaint, he was standing on the second-floor balcony at the club around 7.30pm when Shah approached him. Shah allegedly asked him why he had not been given a place on the stage during the event. Khandelwal, 58, told police that he informed Shah, 51, that he had no role in deciding who would sit on the dais. He alleged that Shah became angry, abused him and threatened him with dire consequences. The argument then turned into a scuffle, during which both allegedly fell.Khandelwal alleged that he suffered an injury to his right hand, for which he later received treatment at Chandramani Hospital in Ahmedabad. Shah also suffered a head injury and required three stitches.On Wednesday, Shah, who is the secretary of the ICAI western region, had lodged a complaint alleging that Khandelwal confronted him at the club over not supporting his bid in the ICAI central council election. Shah had alleged that Khandelwal abused, punched and kicked him, causing him to fall and suffer a head injury.After Khandelwal’s counter-complaint on Friday, police said they are examining both versions and statements of witnesses present at the event. Sources said two former ICAI presidents had intervened on the day of the incident and the matter was apparently believed to have been resolved.In a WhatsApp message circulated among members of the fraternity, Khandelwal denied that the altercation was linked to elections, saying the ICAI elections were held two years ago, and he and Shah had shared the dais at several events since then. He stated the episode arose over a “minor matter” concerning Shah’s desire to sit at a particular place on the dais.“I was neither aware of who had finalised the seating arrangement nor did I have any role whatsoever in deciding it,” Khandelwal said in the message.
