Twenty eight persons, suspected to be Shiv Sena members, have been arrested for vandalising the reception area of ‘Times of India’ (TOI) building in south Mumbai yesterday, police said today.
The attackers were irked by a report in Marathi daily ’Maharashtra Times’, owned by the Times Group, which speculated that Shiv Sena MP Anandrao Adsul was on his way to NCP, they said.
“28 members of Co-operative Banks Employees’ Union, headed by Anandrao Adsul, affiliated to Shiv Sena, were arrested in the case,” said Shashikant Satav, ACP, Azad Maidan division.
“The 22 arrested accused were produced before a local court, which remanded them in police custody till tomorrow. Rest of the accused, who were held today, would be produced before the court tomorrow,” Mr. Satav said.
The accused were booked under the relevant sections of IPC including section 447 (Punishment for criminal trespass), section 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), section 452(House-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), section 144 (Joining unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapon) 146 (Rioting) and sections of Criminal Amendment Act as well as Mumbai Police Act in Azad Maidan police station, police said.
’Maharashtra Times’, in its yesterday’s edition, had carried a report saying Mr. Adsul might join NCP. The report came after an announcement by NCP on Friday that one of the MPs from the State would join the party.
However, not Mr. Adsul, but former Shiv Sena MP Shivaji Mane, who had later joined Congress, entered NCP yesterday.
The attackers had barged into the lobby of TOI building around 1 pm on Saturday and damaged some furniture, flower pots, etc. However, the security staff managed to stop them from going to the Maharashtra Times office.
