The Marine Drive police arrested eight workers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for allegedly digging up the pavement outside Mantralaya in the early hours of Tuesday.
They were allegedly protesting potholes and the poor condition of roads.
Shouting slogans
According to the police, around 2.30 a.m. on Tuesday, 10 to 12 activists armed with MNS flags and digging equipment reached the spot outside the main gate of Mantralaya. They started digging the pavement, and threw debris and paver blocks on the road, shouting slogans hailing the MNS.
“A patrolling unit attached to the Marine Drive police was passing by the spot at the time, and immediately stopped on seeing the group. Our personnel nabbed eight of the men, while the others managed to flee. The eight accused were taken to the police station and placed under arrest,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) Manoj Kumar Sharma said.
Police personnel stand guard in front of Mantralaya on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: Vivek Bendre
The arrested accused have been charged with unlawful assembly and causing damage to public property, under the Indian Penal Code. The Esplanade Court has remanded them in police custody till Thursday. The police are interrogating them to identify the others involved in the offence, and are also examining CCTV camera footage of the area, and videos of the incident that went viral on social media.
The incident comes just a day after MNS workers ransacked a Public Works Department office in Turbhe to protest potholes in the State and the resulting deaths.
‘Pain of the people’
MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande asked if the damage to property outside Mantralaya is deemed a crime, the property damaged in the form of poor roads all over Mumbai must also be a treated as a crime. He said, “I salute those party workers who participated in this act [outside Mantralaya]. I now want to ask the government a question. After going through pain of damage to your property, do you understand the pain the people of Mumbai are going through every day because of potholes and bad roads?”