Shiv Sena (UBT) workers thrash auto driver over 'anti-Marathi' remarks
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Palghar: A video showing an auto-rickshaw driver being assaulted—allegedly by workers of the Shiv Sena (UBT)—in Maharashtra’s Palghar district over ‘anti-Marathi’ remarks has gone viral on social media, intensifying the ongoing language row in the state.
Police said on Sunday they had seen the video but had not received any formal complaint in the matter, and therefore no case had been registered yet.
A local functionary of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) claimed the driver was taught a befitting lesson, asserting that anyone who insults the Marathi language and the state will be dealt with in the "true Shiv Sena style".
The auto-rickshaw driver, a migrant residing in the Virar area of Palghar, had allegedly made derogatory comments about the Marathi language, Maharashtra, and prominent Marathi figures. A clip of those remarks had earlier surfaced on social media, drawing strong reactions online and from political groups in the region.
In the new video from Saturday’s confrontation, the driver is seen being slapped, allegedly by a group of Shiv Sena (UBT) workers—including women—on a crowded road near Virar railway station. He is then made to publicly apologise to a man and his sister, whom he had allegedly misbehaved with earlier, and to the state of Maharashtra for "insulting" its cultural and linguistic heritage.
Shiv Sena (UBT) Virar city chief Uday Jadhav, who was present during the incident, later defended the action.
"If anyone dares to insult the Marathi language, Maharashtra, or Marathi people, they will get a reply in the true Shiv Sena style. We will not sit silent," Jadhav told reporters.
"The driver had the audacity to speak ill of Maharashtra and Marathi manoos. He was taught a befitting lesson. We made him apologise to the people of the state and to those he had offended," he added.
A senior police official confirmed that the incident took place on Saturday but reiterated that no formal complaint had been lodged by either party.
"We have seen the viral video and are verifying the facts, but as of now, no complaint has been received from either party," the official said.
The controversy comes amid heightened tensions around linguistic identity in Maharashtra. On July 1, workers from the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) reportedly slapped a food stall owner in Bhayander, Thane district, for not speaking in Marathi. Traders from the area subsequently held a protest against the incident.
On July 8, the MNS and allied groups organised a protest march in Mira Bhayandar to defend Marathi ‘asmita’ (pride) and counter the earlier traders’ agitation. The demonstration led to police detaining several activists, with participation from leaders and workers of opposition groups including Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP).
(inputs from PTI)
