Court will hear Raj Thackeray case after 10 months

MUMBAI - A Mumbai court Wednesday scheduled the hearing of a case involving attacks on north Indians by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for Sep 13 next year.

Kherwadi police today filed a chargesheet in the case before the Bandra court against MNS chief Raj Thackeray and around 20 others who are accused in the case, his lawyer said.

“Raj Thackeray personally remained present in the court today since he always respects the law,” said advocate Sayaji Nagre shortly after the hearing.

Bandra Court magistrate G. Wankhede posted the matter for hearing after 10 months - that is on Sep 13 next year, he said.

Besides Thackeray, the chargesheet also names 20 other MNS activists who were involved in the attacks on north Indians, Nagre told IANS.

According to Nagre, the charges against Thackeray - under Indian Penal Code Sec. 141 and 149 - pertain mainly to rioting, unlawful assembly, etc. His junior lawyer, Abhijit Pansare, said the matter will again come up for hearing next year on Sep 13, but declined to comment on the long gap of 10 months between the filing of the chargesheet and the trial.

The MNS had attacked north Indian candidates appearing for a railway recruitment examination centre in Kherwadi, Bandra east, on Oct 19 last year. They had also attacked several such examination centres across Maharashtra, compelling the then government headed by chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to arrest him.

He was arrested by the Kherwadi police and immediately released on a bail of Rs. 15,000.

After that Raj Thackeray was arrested by Kalyan police and spent a night in the lock-up in neighbouring Thane. Later, he secured bail in that case and was subsequently released by the police.