In yet another attack with communal undertones, Shiv Sena workers allegedly thrashed a North Indian youth outside his house in Prabhadevi on Wednesday for setting up a food stall in the city.

According to preliminary information, Vishal Pandey had recently started a food stall near Siddhivinayak Temple which had irked Sena workers.

After learning that he was from North India, Sena workers visited his stall and asked Pandey who had given him permission to set up a stall in Mumbai. They also warned him of dire consequences if he didn’t shut it immediately.

When he refused to budge, about two dozen Sena workers arrived at Urvashi building in Prabhadevi – where Pandey lives with his brother, sister, and mother – around 4 pm yesterday.

After calling him out, they brutally thrashed the youth with wooden sticks. When his brother tried to intervene, he was also assaulted. Pandey suffered injuries on his head and back in the assault.

Following the incident, Pandey’s family filed a complaint with Dadar police, who registered an FIR against Sena workers.

Police have reportedly arrested Shailesh Mali, Shikhar Bhagat and Dinesh Patil from Shiv Sena’s Prabhadevi unit in connection with the assault.

“They told us that you ‘bhaiyas’ cannot sell in Mumbai as it belongs to us,” one of Pandey’s relatives was quoted as saying.

The entire incident was captured on a CCTV camera installed inside the building.

A few years back, Sena started targetting North Indians living in the city for ‘stealing’ jobs from locals in a bid to woo traditional Marathi voters. The attacks reduced in recent times when the party came in power in the State & Centre with BJP.

Since then, Uddhav Thackeray’s estranged cousin Raj and his part MNS have taken up the mantle of protecting the interest of ‘Marathi manoos’ by targeting North Indians.

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