New Delhi: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray was released on bail on Wednesday evening hours after he was arrested on the charge of promoting enmity among groups.
The court of the metropolitan magistrate in Vikhroli granted him conditional bail after he furnished a bond of Rs 15,000. The court barred him from speaking to the media or a gathering of more than four people.
Raj’s lawyers held a lengthy argument at the court against the restrictions but the magistrate told the MNS chief that he would be sent to judicial custody in case he refuses to follow the restrictions.
Raj was arrested from his Shivaji Park residence at around 1615 hrs IST on the charge of promoting enmity among ethnic groups by using invectives and provocative language over the presence of north Indians in Mumbai.
He was charged under Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153A (promoting enmity between groups on the basis of places of birth, residence etc) 153D (assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 117 (abetting the commission of any offence by the public) of the IPC.
Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi, who has been booked under similar charges, was arrested from his Colaba home and released on bail by a court in Bhoiwada after some 30 minutes.
When Raj, nephew of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, was taken from his heavily barricaded home in a police van, MNS workers opposed to the presence of "north Indians and took to the streets in several parts of Maharashtra and attacked vehicles and shops.
A Mumbai police team of 16 senior police officers and over 200 personnel arrived at Raj's residence at around 1230 hrs IST. After he got bail, Raj came out of the court and waved to his cheering supporters but didn’t make a speech.
Sporadic violence has been reported from Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra. A man died when a bus belonging to the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was set on fire after being heavily stoned near Nashik town.
Raj on February 3 had criticised migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar calling them "outsiders" in Mumbai. This provoked clashes with Samajwadi Party supporters led by Azmi.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said police had taken the correct step in arresting Thackeray."Law will take its own course," he said, adding that Raj's arrest has shown that the state government will not tolerate acts detrimental to peace and harmony in the state.
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Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil said the arrest has shown that Maharashtra government will not let anyone take law into their hands.
Earlier on Wednesday morning the police arrested MNS state General Secretary Vasant Gite as a preventive measure.
Gite, a former Shiv Sena leader, was one of the first to join MNS when Raj left the Sena and formed his outfit.
Three other leaders of MNS were also taken into preventive custody. The police had detained dozens of MNS workers since Tuesday night in anticipation of trouble in the event of Raj Thackeray's arrest. The MNS state secretary, Vasant Gite, was also arrested in Nashik on Wednesday morning.
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