By IANS
Mumbai : Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray will be arrested if concrete evidence is found against him, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil said Thursday as clashes continued in Mumbai for the fifth consecutive day.
Patil’s assurance came after a report submitted to the state government by Advocate General Ravi Kadam Thursday afternoon. It stated, according to informed sources, that Thackeray could be arrested only on the basis of sufficient evidence against him.
When contacted by IANS, Kadam refused to divulge details of the report. When queried about his proposal to arrest Thackeray, he termed it as his “personal opinion”.
MNS secretary Ajit Darekar was arrested Thursday evening at the Shivaji Park in Dadar, central Mumbai, for instigating his supporters who allegedly attacked north Indian taxi drivers and Samajwadi Party supporters in the past few days.
For the fifth consecutive day, stray incidents of violence continued between workers of MNS and Samajwadi Party in various parts of the state.
Late Wednesday night, MNS workers allegedly damaged several vehicles parked near the sprawling suburban shopping hub, Inorbit Mall at Malad, northwest Mumbai.
In Pune, some unidentified people murdered the MNS president of Bhor taluka. However, the Pune police said the motive behind the killing was personal and not related to the clashes.
MNS activists late Wednesday night ransacked the office of Bombay Taximen’s Union (BTU) at Mumbai Central. In retaliation the BTU secretary A.L. Quadros declared a strike in the city.
Deputy Chief Minister Patil personally intervened in the matter. He called up the BTU leaders and discussed their problems.
Quadros told IANS: “Patil requested us to withdraw the strike. He assured that action would be initiated against those MNS activists who damaged our taxis and ransacked our office.”
Following Patil’s assurance to even compensate the losses suffered by the taxi drivers, BTU decided to call off the strike later in the evening, Quadros said.
The Samajawadi Party’s Maharashtra president Abu Asim Azmi has written a letter to the prime minister and the home minister urging them to deploy central forces in the state, saying the state police had failed in controlling the violence.