Two days after he addressed a mega rally in Aurangabad, police on Tuesday registered an offence against MNS chief Raj Thackeray for allegedly making a provocative speech, among other charges.
Reacting to the FIR, party leader Sandeep Deshpande said if Raj Thackeray is arrested, then they must also be prepared for street struggle. He said MNS workers will follow Thackeray’s ultimatum to remove loudspeakers from mosques and there is no change in their stand.f dialog window.
Thackeray will not be arrested immediately in this case though. “We have registered criminal cases against him under bailable sections. Since the investigation is still in progress, there is no need to arrest him immediately. Certainly, whether to arrest Raj Thackeray or otherwise, will be a political call,” a senior IPS officer told TOI.
City Chowk police in Aurangabad have booked Thackeray along with rally organiser Rajeev Jawalikar and others under the Indian Penal Code sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 116 (abetment) and 117 (whoever abets the commission of an offence by the public generally or by any number or class of persons exceeding 10) along with the Section 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act (violation of prohibitory orders).
Maharashtra police on Tuesday took preventive action against 15,000 people, including key MNS functionaries across the state. The state government on Tuesday also warned of strict action against those violating the law. Maharashtra DGP Rajnish Seth warned the public to not take law into their own hands and cause communal rift. “The leaves of all police personnel have been cancelled and additional force deployed to avoid any untoward incidents,” said Seth, appealing to the public to maintain peace in the state.
