Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Kishore Shinde and his supporters, including Prashant Mate, Narendra Tamboli, Avinash Jadhav and Mahesh Lad, have been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 132 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharging his duty) and 189(2) (unlawful assembly) after they barged into the cabin of Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram while he was holding a meeting, officials said on Thursday.
According to the complaint filed at Shivajinagar Police Station, Shinde and his supporters barged into the Commissioner's cabin when he was holding a meeting with 30–35 officers of the civic body on Wednesday evening. They pushed the security guards and threatened Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram and Assistant Commissioner Prithviraj BP with "not letting them stay in Maharashtra." Some of the party workers climbed on the closed gate of the main building of the PMC and shouted slogans against the Commissioner.
Speaking to the media, Ram said, "I was busy in a meeting when some people barged into the cabin. I was talking to him in Marathi and questioned his behaviour, and told him to go out in Hindi. He picked up that one line and created a Marathi-Hindi issue. He also threatened me and tried to heckle me. His behaviour was highly objectionable and unruly." "I've worked in Maharashtra for many years, but I have never seen such behaviour," he added.
Shinde, however, claimed that Ram called him an "MNS goon." When asked whether he heckled Ram, Shinde said one can check the CCTV footage.
MNS functionaries claimed they visited the PMC Commissioner's office to demand an inquiry into the "missing" household items from the official residence of the civic chief, located in Model Colony.
Ram, however, claimed that Shinde and the other workers were not carrying any documents or memorandum when they stormed into his cabin.
Ram stated that he had already ordered an inquiry into the alleged disappearance of household items, including antique lamps, chandeliers, an air-conditioning unit, and television sets.
Ram's predecessor, Rajendra Bhosale, occupied the official residence before his retirement.
Meanwhile, speaking to The Free Press Journal, Mahesh Bolkotgi, Senior Police Inspector of Shivajinagar Police Station, said, "We have registered a case under the relevant sections of BNS after a ruckus was created by the MNS workers. The matter is under investigation. Accordingly, action will be taken. We have given notices to all the accused in the case. No arrests have been made so far."
