Over 50 booked as Raj Thackeray’s party men celebrate festival
A Dahi Handi celebration turns a blind eye to the ban on it, in Vidyavihar on Tuesday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Defying the government’s appeal and order to desist from celebrating Dahi Handi amid fears of a third COVID wave, workers from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena went ahead with the revelry across Mumbai and Thane on Tuesday. The Mumbai police registered eight FIRs against over 50 people, most of them associated with MNS.
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MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar and many from the Raj Thackeray-led party gathered at Kalachowki to participate in Dahi Handi in a ground. They were stopped by the police from entering the venue. “The police are doing their work based on instructions given by the government and we are going to celebrate Dahi Handi in a symbolic way and one can see that we have not called many people too,” said Nandgaonkar, who then broke a ‘handi’ along with his party men. They were detained by the police. The scene repeated in Worli.
Cases were registered at Worli, Kasturba Marg in Borivali East, Ghatkopar, Shivaji Park, Kalachowki, Sakinaka, Bhandup and Kherwadi in Bandra East. MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande has been booked by the Shivaji Park police.
BJP legislator Ram Kadam had announced that he would celebrate the festival. Sources said there was police presence outside his Khar home and he was not allowed to celebrate in public. In Vartak Nagar of Thane, MNS’s student wing workers broke a handi at an event organised by party leader Sandeep Pachange, Mayur Talekar and Sandeep Chavan at Lakshmi Park. In Bhiwandi, also they broke a handi.
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