Continuing their violent agitation against the toll collection in the State, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activists on Tuesday vandalised the toll plaza at the iconic Bandra-Worli sea link in Mumbai, even as the Pune district police registered two cases against their leader Raj Thackeray and several other party activists in connection with incidents of violence near two toll stations on Monday.
Ignoring the State Government’s warning of an impending legal action against the party chief for provoking the party cadres into targeting the toll stations across Maharashtra, an irate mob of MNS activists went on a rampage at the Bandra-Worli sea link toll plaza in a brazen manner, in the presence of police personnel stationed specially to ensure against untoward incidents.
As many as 30 MNS activists, led by former NCP corporator and latest entrant to MNS Captain Malik, workers arrived at the Bandra-Worli sea toll plaza around 1.30 pm and began raising slogans against the toll collection.
Unmindful of the police presence in and around toll station, the MNS workers ransacked the place. After an unsuccessful effort to prevent the vandals from indulging in violence, the police arrested as 15 MNS workers, including Malik, in connection with the incident.
Elsewhere in Pune district of western Maharashtra, the police registered two cases against Raj Thackeray and several MNS workers in Rajgad and loni-Kalbor police stations in connection with two separate incidents of violence that took place on Monday.
The Pune rural police registered a case against Raj Thackeray and 17 of his party workers in Rajgad police station, in connection with anti-toll agitation undertaken at the Khed-Shivapur police station, where the MNS parties had blocked traffic and hurled stones at the vehicles passing the toll station on Monday.
In another case lodged with the loni-Kalbor police station, the police booked the MNS chief and several of his party workers for vandalising a nearby toll plaza.
In both cases, the police have booked Raj Thackeray for inciting his party workers into targeting various toll stations across Maharashtra. The incitement to the MNS workers came in the form of a provocative speech that the MNS chief delivered on Sunday evening in Navi Mumbai, where he directed his party activists to attack the plazas across the State, demanding toll from vehicle users, and thrashing the personnel manning the outlets.
Pune’s MNS corporator Vasant More is among the vandals against whom a case has been registered with the Rajgad police stations under various sections of the IPC – 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 149 (comment intention), 332, 333 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 ( wrongful restraint), 353 (preventing public servant from discharging duty), 109 (punishment of abetment) and 427 (mischief)
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil said that the tape of Raj Thackeray’s Sunday speech was being examined. “We would like to ascertain if the speech was indeed provocative. We expect a legal opinion on the speech in two days. We will take a final call on initiating legal action against the MNS chief after receiving the report,” Patil said.
Talking to media persons here, the Home Home Minister said: “I have asked the police stations concerned to do the panchanama of the damaged during the MNS workers’ acts of vandalism against various toll stations in the state on Sunday night and Monday. Under the new law, we will recover money for the damages caused by the vandals and the MNS in various incidents of violence”.