Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray has apologised for the death of a man in violence by his party workers in Nashik on Wednesday.
Raj, who was arrested and released on bail on Wednesday after being charged with spreading hatred among groups, sent a letter to Marathi newspapers saying he was sorry for Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) employee Ambadas Haribhau Dharrao, who was killed when MNS workers pelted the bus he was travelling in.
“Police should investigate the death of Dharrao. Innocent activist should not face charges in that case. I would like to personally apologize for the death of this person to his family with folded hands," Raj said in a letter to Marathi newspapers.
Raj, however, has not made any effort to apologise for the violence by his party workers against non-Maharashtrians in Mumbai and other places.
“We will ensure that Marathi Manoos (Marathi person) never suffer in any of our agitations in the future. We believe in the constitution of this country and will abide by laws but if anybody is attacking out culture we will not tolerate that,” he said in the letter written in Marathi.
"Every MNS worker will continue the fight for the cause of Marathi Manoos in Mumbai and Maharashtra. The Union Government has been unfair to Maharashtra,” he said.
Dharrao, 55, was a Maharashtrian and is survived by his wife and two daughters. An MNS worker called Sandeep Subash Bhavar has been arrested for Dharrao’s death and he has been charged with murder, a PTI report said.
Dharrao was cremated in his hometown in Niphad village in Nasik district on Thursday in the presence of hundreds of HAL employees. Shops in the village downed their shutters as a mark of respect to Dharrao.
A day after Raj’s arrest and bail, Mumbai was quiet on Thursday with people going about their business as usual. IANS reports schools and colleges opened as usual, the omnipresent Mumbai dabbawallahs were visible at various railway stations going about their usual chores. Office-goers hurried to their places of work as the city returned to normalcy.
Trains and public buses, taxis and auto-rickshaws created the usual traffic jams on the highways and the four arterial roads as well the link roads around the city.
(Additional information from PTI and IANS)
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