Raj arrested for violence against North Indians, bailed out

Thane (Maharashtra): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray was on Monday arrested and released on bail soon after he was sent to judicial custody in a case connected with inciting attacks against north Indians last October.

A court in Kalyan in Thane district, about 80 km from the state capital Mumbai, gave Thackeray bail of Rs 1,00,000 minutes after sending him to judicial custody till July 13.

Earlier in the day, he surrendered before the Kalyan Railway Police as per the Bombay High Court's orders. He was immediately arrested in the case related to violence against north Indian candidates appearing for a Railway recruitment examination on October 19 last year.

With thousands of MNS supporters gathering, massive security was deployed in the area to ward off any trouble.

Thackeray has been charged under various sections of the Indian Procedure Code (IPC) for rioting, inciting violence, arson, making inflammatory speeches and damaging public property.

He was presented before the Kalyan court Judge KB More, who sent him to judicial custody.

The judge has also restricted Thackeray from making inflammatory speeches or writing articles on issues like caste, religion, language and birthplace that could incite violence and hamper investigations into the case.

The High Court had last week cancelled Thackeray's anticipatory bail by a Kalyan court and ordered him to surrender to police by June-end.

On Oct 21 last year, Thackeray was arrested from Ratnagiri, around 200 km south of Mumbai, after Mumbai Police executed a warrant in another case pertaining to violence against north Indians issued by a Thane Court.

The arrest followed widespread violence against north Indian candidates appearing for various Railway recruitment examinations held around the state in October last year.

In the attacks on north Indians by MNS activists, more than 20 people were injured and thousands of scared candidates fled Mumbai and other cities. Several hundred MNS workers detained or arrested around the state and public property worth millions was damaged or destroyed.

Among the cities that were affected by the violence included Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Sholapur and Nashik. Police have filed more than 50 cases against Thackeray and MNS in different courts in the state.