Police send out warning to Raj

The Mumbai police has served notice to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray. He has been warned against making provocative or inflammatory speeches in connection with multiplexes not screening Marathi movies at prime time.

The Mumbai police has served notice to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray. He has been warned against making provocative or inflammatory speeches in connection with multiplexes not screening Marathi movies at prime time.

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Shivaji Park police station, on Friday, sent a notice to Thackeray asking him to refrain from making speeches that could create law and order problems. “We have sent the notice to his office,” senior police inspector S R Unavne of Shivaji Park police station confirmed.

The notice was sent under Section 149 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The Section states that ‘police must prevent cognisable offences. Every police officer may interpose for the purpose of preventing commission of a cognisable offence’.

Recently, the MNS had created a ruckus at several multiplexes in the city regarding the insufficient number of Marathi movies being screened.

“Such notices should ideally be sent to theatres for not showing Marathi movies as per the law,” MNS spokesperson Shirish Parkar said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said the government had not received a single complaint that multiplexes are not showing Marathi films.

“Marathi film producers have not lodged even a single complaint with the government,” Chavan said.

Reacting to reports of multiplex owners violating provisions of government norms, Chavan clarified that, ‘it can be termed a violation only when a Marathi film distributor approaches multiplexes and they refuse to show the film’.