'Not Maharashtra's culture': Priyanka Chaturvedi on MNS leader assaulting woman

The incident took place on August 28 at Kamathipura’s 8th lane when Prakash Devi, a chemist shop owner, objected to a bamboo pole being erected by MNS workers to display a poster welcoming visitors to the local Ganpati mandal.

Commenting on a viral video of an MNS leader physically abusing an elderly woman in Mumbai's Kamathipura area allegedly over the installation of a bamboo stick for advertisement, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said, “It's totally unacceptable and shameful behaviour.”

Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi. (HT File)

“It's not Maharashtra's culture. He (MNS leader) should publicly apologize to all the women of Maharashtra," Chaturvedi said demanding the suspension of the MNS leader from Raj Thackeray's party. The three Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers have been arrested on Thursday. The incident took place on August 28 at Kamathipura’s 8th lane when Prakash Devi, a chemist shop owner, objected to a bamboo pole being erected by MNS workers to display a poster welcoming visitors to the local Ganpati mandal.

Prakash Devi, the woman who was assaulted, earlier said that no other woman should go through such a situation. She filed a complaint on Wednesday and the three accused have been charged under sections 323 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code.

The incident and the explanation

According to a report by HT correspondent, party functionary Vinod Argile, who is the upavibhag pramukh or deputy division chief, can be seen slapping the woman and then getting into a heated argument with her even as locals tried to pacify them.

The accused, however, claimed while speaking to a Marathi news channel that his outburst was prompted by the woman rushing at him aggressively and using expletives. “She rushed at me, and this happened in the heat of the moment... I am willing to apologise for this in public," he said.

(With ANI inputs)