DS, SPS officials involved in punch-up

A fight broke out last night between Krusevac DS and SPS officials in front of Ribarska Banja Special Hospital. After the fight, Dragomir Miletic, from the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), with clear swelling around both eyes, received treatment from hospital doctors, and announced that he would be suing Democratic Party (DS) official and Special Hospital Director Branislav Katancevic for assault and actual bodily harm. DS, SPS officials involved in punch-up Miletic told Beta that Katancevic had attacked him as we was coming out of a local shop, initially accusing him of bad-mouthing him, and then slapping him, knocking his hat from his head. “When I bent over to pick up my hat, he punched me three times in the face,“ said the SPS official, a former employee at the Special Hospital. At a press conference last night, Katancevic gave a completely different version of events, saying that Miletic had come over to speak to him near the hospital, and that that conversation had later turned into a slanging match, and then a fight initiated by Miletic. “Amid a torrent of abuse directed at me and my family, he slagged off my political allegiances, accused me of bringing “chink ministers“ to Banja, before punching me on the chin,“ said the DS official. He said that he lost control at that point and, in the heat of the moment, pushed him, “and maybe caught“ Miletic, who then told him that he would shoot him, and started searching in his car for a pistol. “I called security at that point, and told them to inform the police,“ said Katancevic who, despite holding a press conference at his party headquarters, had removed all party insignia, and stressed that he was addressing the media solely in the capacity of director of the special hospital. The DS official said that he was sorry that things had gone that far, especially as Miletic was an elderly man, but characterized the incident as just another in a string of attempts to discredit him and, calling on witnesses, said that he would file a complaint for “making threats with a firearm.“ A similar incident involving “provocation“ of Katancevic took place last year in front of the District Court with Democratic Party of Serbia official Dejan Miladinovic. The DS official sued Miladinovic for slander, and the matter is still ongoing. In defense of its member, the Krusevac SPS local committee issued a statement, saying that Miletic had been assaulted for no reason, and that “SPS local committee would use all legal means to combat bullies, and all those who use their fists to settle arguments.“ The police, who have yet to make a statement, have questioned both protagonists as well as witnesses, and have confiscated Miletic’s gun, which he kept at home.

DS, SPS officials involved in punch-up

Miletić told Beta that Katančević had attacked him as we was coming out of a local shop, initially accusing him of bad-mouthing him, and then slapping him, knocking his hat from his head.

“When I bent over to pick up my hat, he punched me three times in the face,“ said the SPS official, a former employee at the Special Hospital.

At a press conference last night, Katančević gave a completely different version of events, saying that Miletić had come over to speak to him near the hospital, and that that conversation had later turned into a slanging match, and then a fight initiated by Miletić.

“Amid a torrent of abuse directed at me and my family, he slagged off my political allegiances, accused me of bringing “chink ministers“ to Banja, before punching me on the chin,“ said the DS official.

He said that he lost control at that point and, in the heat of the moment, pushed him, “and maybe caught“ Miletić, who then told him that he would shoot him, and started searching in his car for a pistol.

“I called security at that point, and told them to inform the police,“ said Katančević who, despite holding a press conference at his party headquarters, had removed all party insignia, and stressed that he was addressing the media solely in the capacity of director of the special hospital.

The DS official said that he was sorry that things had gone that far, especially as Miletić was an elderly man, but characterized the incident as just another in a string of attempts to discredit him and, calling on witnesses, said that he would file a complaint for “making threats with a firearm.“

A similar incident involving “provocation“ of Katančević took place last year in front of the District Court with Democratic Party of Serbia official Dejan Miladinović. The DS official sued Miladinović for slander, and the matter is still ongoing.

In defense of its member, the Kruševac SPS local committee issued a statement, saying that Miletić had been assaulted for no reason, and that “SPS local committee would use all legal means to combat bullies, and all those who use their fists to settle arguments.“

The police, who have yet to make a statement, have questioned both protagonists as well as witnesses, and have confiscated Miletić’s gun, which he kept at home.