Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, booked for allegedly inciting violence against north Indians, was today granted bail by a metropolitan magistrate at Bandra.
MNS activists had on Sunday beaten up north Indian youths who had come to the city to appear for an examination conducted by the railway board.
Thackeray was released on a personal surety of Rs 15,000. However, police were given his transit custody as the Thane police wanted to produce him before a court in Kalyan for similar offences. He has been booked in two cases in Kalyan.
Earlier in the day, bowing to mounting pressure from New Delhi, the Vilasrao Deskmukh government decided to act and arrest Thackeray. A Mumbai police team left the city late in the evening on Monday and reached Ratangiri in the Konkan region in the wee hours of the day and arrested Thackeray.
Rejecting the charge that the government acted under pressure from the central government, Deshmukh said “nobody is above law” and warned that anyone indulging in violence would be dealt with sternly.
Noting that many MNS activists had been arrested across the state, Deshmukh said, “Once we decide to take action, some precautionary steps have to be taken by the police and they have been taken. There have been reports of minor incidents of violence. Those indulging in violence will be dealt with strictly”.
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Outside Bandra court, MNS activists and police repeatedly clashed with each other. The activists wanted to enter the court, forcing the police to lathi-charge. About 150 protesters were detained. Media personnel and MNS supporters were barred from the court premises.
“Thackeray is a special man and this is a special case,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Nisar Tamboli, who was heading the force movement in the area.
Despite heavy police presence in the city since Monday evening, sporadic violence was reported from various areas in Mumbai and its suburbs like Parel, Tardeo, Mulund, Borivali, Thane, Kalyan and Navi Mumbai. MNS activists pelted taxis, buses and rickshaws with stones in the morning.
Minor acts of vandalism and violence were also reported from Pune, Nashik and Aurangabad. MNS activists pelted public transport buses with stones, targeted rickshaws and forced shops and other commercial establishments to shut down. At Nashik, the activists threw burning tyres on the road an attempt to block the Mumbai-Agra highway. However, acting swiftly, police removed the blockades and dispersed the activists using force.
Director General of Police ( DGP) AN Roy said police would deal “effectively” with those resorting to violence.
“We were anticipating this violent reaction after Raj’s arrest. We carried out a large number of preventive arrests. We have arrested around 1,900 people so far,” Roy added.