Phata poster, nikla tension

Cops remove Shiv Sena's Afzal Khan posters; furious Sainiks say they'll protest ban on celebrating Shivaji's victory 350 yrs ago

The Shiv Sena's agitation overu00a0 not being allowed to put up posters celebrating the 350th anniversary, today, of the slaying of Afzal Khan came to a head last night.

Despite the ban, Sena workers put up posters illustrating the event where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj killed Khan at several places in the city. The posters also had pictures of 26/11 martyrs.

However, to avoid any untoward incidents (see Remember Sangli?), the cops pulled down the posters, leaving the Sena workers fuming.

The police removed posters from Shiv Sena's sakha office at Andheri Pump House. This led to a huge commotion in the area and the police had to deploy additional forces to ensure that the situation didn't go out of hand.



Senior Inspector Pradeep Suryavanshi, of the MIDC police, said, "We've removed several posters from the area. If more posters are put up, we'll pull them down too."

Ramesh Latke, the Shiv Sena corporator from the area, said, "There's nothing wrong in putting the posters. If stopped, we'll protest."

Likewise, in Lower Parel, cops had increased patrolling to make sure no posters are put up. A Sena activist from Currey Road, said, "Although the police are making rounds every hour, we'll put up posters in the morning."

Neelam Gore, Shiv Sena spokesperson, said, "If stopped by the police, we'll move the court. That's when they'll realise their mistake."

Citing a law and order problem, the Jt CP (law and order) Himanshu Roy on Saturday wrote a letter to the BMC asking them not to sanction permission for any posters related to the issue unless it had the Mumbai police's permission.

But earlier in the day, Sena MLA and Corporator Ravindra Waikar had told MiD DAY, "We'll celebrate the occasion. Let us see who will stop us."

Remember Sangli?

In September, similar posters had led to communal riots in Sangli and Kolhapur.

However, undeterred by the past, the Pratapgadh Utsav Samiti has fixed posters of Shivaji killing Afzal Khan on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Pune-Solapur Highway and the Pune-Nashik Highway.

New Cause

After strong protests against Sachin Tendulkar's comment on 'being an Indian first', ransacking a TV channel's office and the BMC's water department, the Afzal Khan poster issue has become yet another plank for Shiv Sena to get the Marathi manoos's attention.

Said a BMC official, "The Sena is scared of losing ground after MNS's gain in the assembly polls."

With inputs from Somita Pal