By IANS,
Mumbai: A Mumbai court Wednesday allowed police to conduct an enquiry against the organisers of Shiv Sena’s Dussehra rally for causing noise pollution, an activist said.
The probe will enquire into the violation of the noise pollution levels indicated by the Bombay High Court while granting permission to the Shiv Sena to hold its annual rally at Shivaji Park, declared a ‘silence zone’ earlier this year, said NGO AWAAZ Foundation’s Sumaira Abdul Ali.
“I shall be a witness in the case and my recordings of the sound levels that evening have been submitted by the police in the complaint before the Bhoiwada Court,” Sumaira told IANS.
The development follows a separate case under the Bombay Police Act filed against rally organiser Milind Borkar and others by the Shivaji Park Police Station Monday.
The Bombay Police Act is much milder and attracts only a penalty of Rs.5,000. Under the Environment Protection Act, the fine is Rs.100,000 and or with a five-year jail term, Sumaira said.
The police have also named former mayor Milind Vaidya and Shiv Sena senior activist Anil Parab in their complaint.
The two filed the writ petition in the Bombay High Court seeking permission for the rally and promised to adhere to the 50-decibel limits, as per the Noise Pollution Control Rules.
The rally saw three generations of the Thackeray family coming together for the first time: Aditya Thackeray, son of party executive president Uddhav Thackeray and grandson of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray.