Activists of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) allegedly vandalised a toll plaza on the Samruddhi Expressway in Maharashtra’s Nashik district after Mr. Thackeray’s son, Amit Thackeray, was halted there for half an hour, said officials on July 23.
Mr. Amit Thackeray, who is president of the MNS youth wing, was returning from Ahmednagar to Sinnar via the Samruddhi Expressway on Saturday evening, when his convoy was stopped by toll plaza staff members.
According to police, Mr. Amit Thackeray’s car was stopped at Gonde toll plaza in Sinnar (in Nashik district) at 9:15 p.m. on Saturday while en route to Mumbai reportedly owing to some mismatch in his vehicle’s Fastag details.
The halt turned out to be longer than usual as toll staff were apparently unwilling to lift the barrier and let Mr. Amit Thackeray’s convoy pass owing to this technical glitch.
This provoked the ire of MNS workers, who then went on a rampage in the wee hours of Sunday, smashing the toll plaza with rods and sticks and making an employee there apologise.
A video of the incident later went viral on social media.
MNS workers justified their act claiming that the toll booth employees behaved in a high-handed manner by making Mr. Amit Thackeray wait when the technical fault was on their side.
While no case has been registered so far, the police are probing the matter on the basis of the video clip that went viral.
“A probe is under way into the incident, and further action will be taken after CCTV etc., is checked. We have not got any complaint (from toll plaza staffers) but a process to register a case is on,” said an official from the Wavi police station in Sinnar.
While stating that the incident should not have happened, former MLA and senior MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said the “arrogant” behaviour of the toll authorities in unnecessarily halting Mr. Amit Thackeray’s car had incensed MNS workers.
“I have spoken to the police authorities… There was no reason why Mr. Amit Thackeray should have been stopped for such a long time as he had a Fastag. There was some technical problem on side of the toll employees. The toll manager behaved in an arrogant fashion and was unwilling to lift the barrier [to let the convoy through],” Mr. Nandgaonkar said.
