A local court has issued a non-bailable warrant against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray for not appearing before the court for a long time.

The next hearing is scheduled on May 8, Thursday.

According to the charges, MNS workers allegedly pelted stones at a Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus on the Jalna-Aurangabad road on October 20, 2008, near the Shekta village in Maharashtra.

Later, a complaint was lodged by bus driver Ibrahim Shaikh with the Karmad police, after which a case was registered against Raj and six others. The police had filed chargesheets against all the accused.

However, Raj refrained from being present before the court since then and had also filed an application before Judicial Magistrate First Class Ashok Soni, requesting permission to abstain from being present in court, since he is busy campaigning for elections.

Noting that elections in Maharashtra got over on April 24, the magistrate rejected his plea and ordered issuance of a non-bailable warrant against him.

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