Attack on Thane family: Insult of Marathi people will not be tolerated, says Maharashtra govt

CM Devendra Fadnavis said that a case was registered against the 48-year-old MTDC staffer and his wife over the attack, and the process to suspend him had been initiated. Pic/X

The alleged attack on a couple by a government employee in Thane District of Maharashtra figured during the winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti regime asserted that "insult" of Marathi people will not be tolerated.

The opposition vociferously raised the issue of alleged assault on two members of a Marathi family by a Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) employee and his wife, who are neighbours of the victims, following a dispute in Kalyan.

The Thane Police said that the government employee, identified as Akhilesh Shukla, has surrendered.

Speaking in the legislative council, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that a case was registered against the 48-year-old MTDC staffer and his wife over the attack, and the process to suspend him had been initiated.

According to news agency PTI, besides the Shuklas, the first information report (FIR) registered in the case has also named some other persons involved in the assault on the victims.

The issue was raised by Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) legislator Anil Parab in the Upper House of the legislature in Nagpur, the state's second capital.

No injustice will be done to Marathi people: CM Fadnavis

"Shukla told the victims he works in Mantralaya (state secretariat) and several Marathi staffers clean his office," Parab said, claiming that incidents of Marathi people facing discrimination from those coming from other states were increasing.

According to PTI, Parab also claimed that Marathi people face attacks during train travel or are denied homes in housing societies owing to their food choices.

Such incidents were on the rise in Mumbai, Pune, Kalyan and other parts of the state after the BJP came to power, the opposition Member of Legislative Council (MLC) alleged.

According to PTI, Congress legislator Bhai Jagtap alleged that the accused also made derogatory remarks about Marathi people, while Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLC Shashikant Shinde claimed that an unwritten rule of not allowing non-vegetarian people prevails in housing societies in Mumbai.

Responding to the controversy, Fadnavis said an FIR has already been registered at the Khadakpada Police Station in Thane district, and Shukla will be suspended from his job.

"No injustice will be done to Marathi people," the Maharashtra CM assured the house.

Breed of Maharashtra haters have cropped up in state: Raj Thackeray

He also stated that the Constitution gives everyone the right to choose one's food, and no one has the right to deny anyone a home based on eating habits.

"This discrimination will not be tolerated," Fadnavis asserted, according to PTI.

When Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Sunil Prabhu raised the issue in the Lower House, deputy CM Ajit Pawar also stated that injustice against Marathi people will not be tolerated.

Eknath Shinde, who is also a deputy CM, reiterated the assertion.

Later, while speakingt to reporters, he said that action has been taken against the accused and CM Fadnavis has made an "elaborate" statement in the legislative council over the issue.

"Marathi 'asmita (pride)' will be protected and insult of Marathi people will not be tolerated," said the Shiv Sena President, adding that the late Bal Thackeray had founded the party to protect the rights of the locals.

Maharashtra Navnriman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray also reacted to the incident and said said a "breed of Maharashtra haters" have cropped in the state and they need to be "nipped in the bud".

8-10 people assault couple with iron rods, sticks: FIR

In a post on X, Thackeray said when such an incident takes place, people knock on the doors of the MNS because other parties will not come running for them. But for voting they will turn their back against the MNS, he lamented.

MNS did not win a single seat in the state assembly polls held on November 20.

Marathi manoos (Marathi-speaking people) are paramount for MNS and it will always stand by them, Raj Thackeray assured.

"The local MLA, MP (Member of Parliament) did not come out against the incident or do any follow-up to register an FIR against the accused. All MLAs have taken Marathi people for granted," he added.

According to the Thane police, the attack took place around 8.45 pm on Wednesday. The accused as well as the complainants live on the same floor of a building in Kalyan.

As per the FIR, the complainants saw Shukla quarrelling with one of their neighbours over incense burning and asked him to maintain peace. Shukla and his wife Geeta, 45, allegedly got angry and assaulted the complainants with the help of eight to 10 others, using iron rods, pipes and wooden sticks.

While Shukla surrendered before Khadakpada Police on Friday, Senior Inspector Aamarnath Waghmode said that they are looking for the other accused in the case.

"We will trace the other accused," he said.

Before surrendering, Shukla posted a video on social media claiming that his wife was beaten up by the family members of the Marathi couple. He has been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 74 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(3) (criminal intimidation), 189 (2) (3) and (5) (unlawful assembly), among others.

(With PTI inputs)