MNS threatens woman over a tree in Mumbai

A car parked outside the pre-school. Pic/Nimesh Dave

A pre-school owner and MNS workers in Kandivli are at loggerheads over a spot.

After she tried to plant a tree to block the sunlight, Helen Fonseca (51) alleged MNS workers threatened to vandalise her pre-school if she went ahead with the plan. Fonseca wanted to plant a tree outside the school to stop people from parking vehicles outside and to prevent the glare from cars coming in.

Fonseca has been running Infant Jesus Play Group and Nursery in Charkop Sector III, Kandivli, for 16 years. She convinced locals not to park in front of the school from 9 am-2 pm, but faced trouble with one resident.

After the problem was sorted out with the help of the police, Fonseca approached the BMC for a permanent solution, who advised her to plant a tree at that spot. "The next day, around 10 people, claiming to be MNS workers, turned up saying I was blocking the entrance to the adjacent cultural event venue. They threatened to vandalise my school if I did not stop," she said.

MNS member Devendra Khair said, "We issued no threat. She's running a pre-school inside a residential colony."

ACP Shrirang Nadgauda said he will look into the issue.