Mumbai Police have registered an FIR against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, MNS leader Amit Thackeray and 23 others over a protest near Shivaji Park against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, according to a report by Navbharat Times.
The case relates to a protest held on Sunday, during which police restricted the Thackeray leaders and their supporters from moving beyond Plaza Cinema. The FIR includes a charge under Section 189(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which concerns unlawful assembly. The report said police used multiple provisions of law in the case.
Aaditya Thackeray and Amit Thackeray had joined supporters during the protest organised in support of the campaign against Kumar. Aaditya Thackeray reportedly staged a sit-in on the road outside Shivaji Park. Police alleged that the leaders and others stopped a police van carrying detained protesters.
The protest led to a significant police deployment in and around the Shivaji Park area. Several people were detained during the demonstrations, including social activist Anjali Damania, who had arrived to participate in the protest, the report said. Supporters and workers of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS later gathered outside Shivaji Park police station, where most of the detained protesters were taken.
The FIR also names MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande and Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Varun Sardesai and Mahesh Sawant. Aaditya Thackeray and Sardesai are legislators. Aaditya Thackeray has also previously served as a minister in the Maharashtra government.
The report said Aaditya Thackeray arrived with his brother Tejas Thackeray and alleged that police had mistreated party workers and assaulted them. He also alleged that a woman worker of Shiv Sena (UBT) had her sari torn during a scuffle. These allegations were reported as statements by the leader; the supplied report does not include a police response to them.
The incident places a prominent public space and surrounding roads at the centre of a dispute over protest permissions, crowd movement and police action. The immediate legal process will determine how the allegations recorded in the FIR are investigated and whether further action is taken against those named in the case.
