Mumbai Police have registered an FIR against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, MNS leader Amit Thackeray and 23 others following a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar near Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, according to a report by Navbharat Times – Mumbai.
The case relates to allegations of unlawful assembly during Sunday’s demonstration. The FIR includes Section 189(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which concerns unlawful assembly, along with other provisions, the report said. The police action follows a day of protests, detentions and confrontations near the Shivaji Park area.
Aaditya Thackeray and Amit Thackeray had joined supporters who gathered in support of the protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, against the Chief Election Commissioner. Police stopped the Thackeray cousins and their supporters from proceeding beyond Plaza Cinema, according to the report. Aaditya Thackeray also staged a sit-in on the road outside Shivaji Park.
The report said police alleged that the leaders obstructed a police van carrying detained protesters. Several people were detained during the protest, including social activist Anjali Damania. The demonstration drew a heavy police presence, with groups staging sit-ins and raising slogans at different locations in the area.
The protest later moved towards the vicinity of the Shivaji Park police station, where most of the detained participants were taken. Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS leaders and workers gathered outside the station and demanded the release of those in custody. The report said the protesters criticised the BJP governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra, while Aaditya and Amit Thackeray sought the release of the detained participants.
Tejas Thackeray was also present with Aaditya Thackeray. Aaditya alleged that police personnel had mistreated party workers and that a woman Shiv Sena (UBT) worker’s sari was torn during a scuffle. These allegations were reported as claims made by the political leader; the supplied report does not include an independent police response to them.
The FIR also names MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande and Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Varun Sardesai and Mahesh Sawant, according to the report. Aaditya Thackeray and Sardesai are legislators, while Aaditya has previously served as a minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
The case places a politically charged protest in a prominent public space within a formal police investigation. The immediate legal process, including the police investigation and the status of those detained, will determine the next developments in the matter.
