Raj Thackeray arrested as tax blockade falls flat



Around 10am on Wednesday, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray stepped out of his Dadar house for the Vashi toll booth, ready to participate in the "mega" road blockade he had declared demanding transparency in toll collection.



But the Mumbai Police, on high alert since the call was made on Monday, made sure he didn't get very far, apprehending him at Chembur, and putting him and his supporters under preventive arrest.

The police said Thackeray was arrested for violation of Section 149 of CrPC, which empowers a police officer to take action to prevent a cognisable offence. He was released an hour and a half later.



MNS chief Raj Thackeray was released two hours after being detained in connection with his agitation against toll plazas

The MNS 'rasta roko' (road blockade) stir began at 9am at toll booths across Maharashtra. Over the day, thousands of MNS workers were detained for beating up motorists at a few booths, blocking traffic, vandalising vehicles and burning and deflating tyres.



There seemed to be few takers for the strike, however, as vehicular movement remained smooth at most of Maharashtra's toll booths.



Toll booths that the protest affected included the one at Vashi in Mumbai. In Thackeray's absence, some 50-odd workers gathered here and formed a human chain to stop the traffic. However, the police soon arrived and lathi-charged the protesters before detaining them.

On the Easter Express Highway, however, they managed to create chaos by deflating the tyres of vehicles, thus creating a snarl.



As news of Thackeray's arrest spread, enraged workers beat up motorists at Vikhroli. The retaliatory attacks saw MNS members vandalise at least three vehicles in Aurangabad, and five in Pune. In Thane, a few shops were attacked and some vehicles vandalised.



However, barring one incident that saw a woman getting injured as MNS cadres began pelting stones in Pune following Thackeray's arrest, the demonstrators restricted themselves to vandalism and refrained from large-scale violence.



As he came out of the prison, Thackeray said his stir had managed to convey the desired message.



"I had appealed to people to not indulge in violence, and that has been followed. I received a call from the Chief Minister (Prithviraj Chavan) while I was in detention, and he has invited me for talks tomorrow (Thursday) at 9am," he said.