In a pre-dawn arrest, Raj Thackeray was picked up by the police and faced a litany of charges including inciting violence and had to spend the night in a lock-up despite getting bail in a case, sparking sporadic violence in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra.
Facing intense pressure to rein in Raj for his anti-North Indian tirade, the Maharashtra Government finally effected the arrest at 3: 30 am in Ratnagiri, about 200 km from Mumbai, in four separate cases of attack on 'outsider' candidates appearing for a railway recruitment exam by MNS activists on Sunday.
Raj,who had dared the Deshmukh government to arrest him, was produced before the metropolitan court in Bandra which granted him bail in one of the cases in the suburb but police quickly took him back in custody for a similar case in neigbouring Dombivali, in Thane district and whisked him away.
Since he could not reach in time, Raj will be produced before a court in Kalyan on Wednesday and hence had to spend the night in Manpada police station in Dombivali, his lawyers said.
Throughout Tuesday's court proceedings, Raj Thackeray sat quietly without uttering a word. Two truckloads of Rapid Action Force personnel were stationed outside the court for security.
Click to read further...
Image: MNS chief Raj Thackeray being arrested from Ratnagiri district in Konkan region
Text: Syed Firdaus Ashraf & Agencies | Photographs: PTI Photo
Advertisement
