Traders in the Mira-Bhayandar area shut their shops on Thursday to protest the alleged assault of a 48-year-old sweet shop owner by a group linked to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for reportedly not speaking Marathi.
At several locations, traders’ associations held rallies condemning the MNS and later assembled at a community hall, raising slogans against the party. The protesting traders demanded strict action against those involved in the assault.
Meanwhile, the Kashimira police have issued notices to three of the seven accused MNS workers. Senior Inspector Rajendra Kambale of the Kashimira police station said, “As the offence committed by the accused carries a sentence less than three years’ imprisonment, following Supreme Court’s order, we have not arrested the accused and served them notices.” He added that a chargesheet will be filed within a week.
The incident took place around 10:35 pm on June 29 at ‘Jodhpur Sweets and Namkeen’, located in a bustling area of Mira Road (East). According to the FIR, the shop owner, Baboolal Khimaji Choudhary, a resident of Bhayander (East), reported that seven unidentified men, aged between 20 and 30, entered his shop. He noted that five of them were wearing scarves with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) name and symbol.
Following a heated argument, Choudhary was allegedly assaulted by the MNS workers. The police have identified three individuals seen attacking the shop owner in a viral video as Karan Kandangire (31), Pramod Nilekat, and Akshay Dalvi.
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