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Interim bail for Raj Thackeray

Kalyan (Thane district): It was celebration time for the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Wednesday as its leader Raj Thackeray was let off on interim bail. After spending a night at the Manpada police station here, Mr. Thackeray went home to a boisterous welcome in the evening.

On Tuesday, MNS workers went on the rampage in the city and all over the State, destroying property and indulging in arson. Things were quieter on Wednesday, when the action shifted to the Kalyan court, where Mr. Thackeray was produced in connection with a case registered at the Kalyan railway police station on October 19. The charge against him was instigating attacks on North Indian students appearing for a Railway Recruitment Board examination. The court accepted his anticipatory bail application.

Keeping in mind the mayhem witnessed at the Bandra court on Tuesday, the police clamped curfew and imposed probibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code outside the Kalyan court area. In stark contrast to the multitude at the Bandra court, the streets outside were bare as Mr. Thackeray was produced in the court at 2.45 p.m. amidst heavy bandobust.

The case filed at the Thane and Kalyan police stations related to the beating up of North Indian applicants. Again, Mr. Thackeray was charged with rioting and promoting enmity between two groups and under other Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which were similar to those of the earlier case at Kherwadi.

The prosecution argued that Mr. Thackeray was an influential person and he created law and order problems, but defence counsel held that he had committed no offence. Counsel Rajendra Shirodkar argued that his client was only taking about the grievances of the people in his State. “Wanting to propagate a language is not an offence.”

Arguments went on for police custody and the Kalyan railway police came with a transfer warrant, sought from the Bandra court on Tuesday. “The [Kalyan] court finally granted him an interim bail. One after the other the police are booking him in cases and coming to arrest him. This is nothing but malice on the part of the state,” said Mr. Shirodkar.

While Mr. Thackeray has, for the time being, freed himself of the State’s hold, he still faces many cases, which are likely to put him back on the court beat.

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