Prakashdevi Bohra with a copy of the FIR. (Express Photo by Sagar Rajput)Prakashdevi Bohra, the woman who was assaulted by MNS workers outside her closed shop at Kamatipura in Nagpada on August 28, said on Friday that only when a video of the incident went viral on social media, did the police lodge an FIR in the case and arrested the three accused.
“On Wednesday (August 31), when I reported the matter to the Nagpada police and showed the officers the video, they refused to register an FIR and instead lodged a non cognizable (NC) offense. It was only after the video went viral the next day, did the police reach out to me to register an FIR,” 57-year-old Bohra told The Indian Express.
Sub-divisional head of Kamatipura, Vinod Argile, as well as MNS workers Raju Argile and Sandip Lad were arrested on Thursday night. They were on Friday produced before the court, which granted them bail.
Senior MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar issued a statement on Friday apologising on behalf of the party and announced that Vinod Argile has been removed from his post.
Bohra, a widow who stays with her daughter and son at Mumbai Central, said that she had left her house on August 28 afternoon to take part in a religious procession at Nagpada. Around 2.30 pm, when the procession reached near her shop at Kamatipura, she saw that MNS workers were putting up a banner there. “They were digging outside my shop to put up a banner, so, I requested them to dig a few meters ahead,” said Bohra. This did not go well with the MNS workers and the three accused started abusing and subsequently, manhandled Bohra.
Bohra said that, she was abused, beaten and pushed, resulting in her falling on the road. “As I was fasting and was aware that the police will make me sit for hours to take my complaint, I did not go to the police station for the next two days,” she said.
Two days after the incident, Bohra went to Nagpada police station to file a complaint on August 31.
She said that despite showing the video to the police, no FIR was registered. “They only filed a NC offense as the culprit were politicians,” she alleged.
However, after the video went viral on Thursday, Bohra said the police contacted her in order to register an FIR.
When contacted, Senior Inspector Ramesh Khade said, “The NC was lodged the previous day on the basis of her statement. However, we registered an FIR on Thursday after her statement changed.”
Bohra’s daughter Sonal said she is scared to even let her step out of her house now. “They are politicians. They have their men everywhere. So, I am worried… the party workers should not harm her or any of my family members.”
Bohra said that her shop has been shut for a long time due to some family dispute. “I hope that the people who attacked a woman get strict punishment,” she added.
Bala Nandgaonkar, meanwhile, said in a statement, “I was heartbroken watching the incident that took place in the Kamathipura area… Party president Rajsaheb Thackeray has always respected women. Strict orders have been given to all party workers to respect women but despite that such an incident took place. I apologise on behalf of the party. The party has taken a very strict stand and the sub-division president of Kamathipura, Vinod Argile, is being relieved from the post.”
Shiv Sena MLA Aditya Thackeray, described the incident as outrageous and demanded strict action. “I have seen the video and it was a really dirty and ugly act… it is outrageous… It is not at all right to behave like this… be it an officer-bearer or a party worker of any party. Strict action should be taken and that action should be visible to the people. Raising hands on someone, that too on a woman, is unacceptable,” Aaditya told the media.