Mumbai on September 1 : A group of activists who are believed to be part of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) attacked and abused an elderly woman after she opposed their decision to put up an Ganeshotsav advertising banner in front of her shop in Mumbai without her consent.Three of them were arrested on Thursday.Incredibly irritated by her obvious refusal to comply, the MNS activists, led by Vinod Argyle, along with others, angered themselves by slapping her, and then beating her until she was thrown off the footpath.
The woman, named Parkash Devi, was reported to have instructed the victims to “go and hang the banner outside Raj Thackeray’s residence” and Argyle said she even assaulted them outside the medical store she had.
After a flurry of protests late on Thursday night at night, the Nagpada police detained three suspects three people – Vinod Arguyle, Raju Arguyle, and Satish Lad and filed a criminal case under section of the IPC According to an official.
In the video of the incident, which took place on Sunday, but was made online in the evening, the victim along with the MNS activists were shown in an argument that was heated and, when she refused to leave, Argyle could be seen pushing her, and then giving her a powerful kick in the stomach and then shoving her when she was thrown onto the pavement.
On Thursday Argyle claimed that the woman had assaulted him, but on Thursday, Argyle said he apologized for assaulting her, even though the incident led to an uproar in the political arena.
Nationalist Congress Party chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase slammed the MNS for the “brutal attack” on a woman who was elderly and demanded MNS President Raj Thackeray should clarify his party’s position on dignity and respect for women.
“Such an act in the open air is shocking and we denounce it.The Mumbai Police should registered a FIR and take action against the MNS activists involved and Raj Thackeray should also take action in the incident,” he demanded.
The former Shiv Sena Mayor Kishori Pednekar condemned the MNS for the incident and demanded Raj Thackeray to personally intervene and take action against the perpetrators.
MNS South Mumbai activist Keshav Muley and other activists immediately took their hands off Argyle as well as others stating that the video was “incomplete” and that the party’s top brass will take action in the issue.
Social media also expressed anger over the way in which so many people ignored taking photographs or video of the event instead of intervening to stop the political lullens or hurrying to the assistance of the woman who was fighting them on their own.
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