The Maharashtra government is tightening its noose on Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray [Images] as it filed four more cases at different places in the state against him.
Raj spends his night in police lock-up
The cases were filed at Satara, Sholapur, Jalgaon and Pandharpur against Raj against his provocative speeches.
This is bound to create more troubles for the MNS chief who is to appear at court in Kalyan on Wednesday morning to seek bail.
The government is also seeking action against Raj in another incident of Kanjurmarg area of the metropolis and is planning to move court to cancel his bail in the Vikhroli case.
Images: Raj's arrest brings Mumbai on its toes
Raj was earlier arrested on February 13, 2008 and taken to a Vikhroli court, but was released on bail immediately. The court had granted him bail on condition that he should not make provocative speeches. However, he did not keep his promise.
The Congress-led government has also called for an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning to assess the law and order situation in the state.
Meanwhile, Rapid Action Forces has been deployed in Kalyan-Dombivli area where Raj is to be produced in the court. The MNS chief spent his night in police lock-up even as his supporters went on rampage at many places in Maharashtra.
In Mumbai, 15 taxis were stoned and damaged on Tuesday night and sporadic incidents of violence were reported from parts of Kalyan and Dombivli.
The traffic, however, in Mumbai returned to normal. However, fewer vehicles could be seen plying on the roads.
Local trains -- the lifeline of Mumbai in which 6.5 million people commute everyday -- are running on schedule. Even government buses were plying as per schedule even though 115 buses were damaged on Tuesday by MNS supporters.
Tension was evident in stronghold areas of the MNS as some shopkeepers preferred to keep their shutters down rather than take risk of mob fury.