FIR against MNS workers for harassing man of minority community

Pune, Feb 25: Pune Police have registered an FIR against some MNS workers for allegedly barging into the house of a man from a minority community and harassing him, an official said on Tuesday.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) launched a "drive" against suspected illegal Bangladeshis here last week.

Later, a person, Roshan Shaikh (35), complained to the police on Saturday that some MNS workers barged into his house in Balajinagar area here and labelled him as a Bangladeshi national, though he hailed from West Bengal and was working in Pune.

The complainant said he tried to convince them that he was an Indian citizen and not a Bangladeshi. He also showed them all the documents, but they did not listen to him. Shaikh and two other persons were later brought to the Sahakar Nagar police station.

The police verified their credentials and found none of them was an illegal migrant, a senior police official said.

Based on Shaikh's complaint, an FIR was registered late Monday night against seven to eight workers and office- bearers of the MNS under IPC Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147, 149 (rioting), 448 (trespassing) and 506 (criminal intimidation), he said.

Addressing a rally of MNS workers in Mumbai on February 9, party chief Raj Thackeray demanded eviction of illegal Pakistani and Bangladeshi "infiltrators" from India.