MUMBAI: Three workers of Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) were booked on Wednesday by the VP Road police in Girgaon, South Mumbai, for allegedly assaulting a grocery shop owner over a language dispute.
The incident unfolded when a customer, Vimal Mhaskar, went to a grocery store in Khetwadi, a sub-locality in Girgaon, to purchase cardamom. Babulal Prajapati, 38, owner of the shop asked Mhaskar to speak in Marwari. Offended by his insistence, Mhaskar approached local MNS leaders, who allegedly took matters into their own hands. Arjun Jadhav, Kuldip Bapardekar, and Nagesh Hatankar are accused of forcibly bringing Prajapati to an MNS office, where they assaulted him and recorded the incident on video, according to the police.
“We have booked the MNS leaders under sections 127 (wrongful confinement) and 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023,” a police officer said. While notices for their appearance have been issued, the trio was not detained, as the offences carry a punishment of less than seven years.
MNS, known for its aggressive defence of Marathi identity, has often positioned itself as a protector of Maharashtrian culture, with its workers taking swift—sometimes controversial—action against perceived slights. This is not the first time the party has found itself in the spotlight for its confrontational tactics. The party, under Raj Thackeray’s leadership, has frequently courted controversy by targeting non-Maharashtrians in the state, from migrant workers to shopkeepers.
{{/usCountry}}MNS, known for its aggressive defence of Marathi identity, has often positioned itself as a protector of Maharashtrian culture, with its workers taking swift—sometimes controversial—action against perceived slights. This is not the first time the party has found itself in the spotlight for its confrontational tactics. The party, under Raj Thackeray’s leadership, has frequently courted controversy by targeting non-Maharashtrians in the state, from migrant workers to shopkeepers.
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