A local court on Thursday ordered the arrest of MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray for issuing provocative statements against Biharis living in Maharashtra.
Chief judicial magistrate (CJM) SP Singh, while passing the order on a complaint lodged by a local advocate on Wednesday, also directed the Muzaffarpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) to lodge an FIR with the town police station in Muzaffarpur against the Thackerays. The CJM also asked the SSP to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
Complainant Sudhir Kumar Ojha told HT on Thursday that the court of CJM had earlier admitted his petition under Indian Penal Code sections 124A, 153, 153A, 504 and 120B, which related to "sedition and wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot and others."
Ojha, in his complaint, alleged that the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief and the senior Shiv Sena leader had made statements on different occasion to provoke people. "I read the statement of both the leaders of Maharashtra, appeared a couple of days ago in print and electronic media. Their statement was against the state and very malice towards the integrity of the county. It also maligned the image of a common man of Bihar," Ojha said in his written complaint.