Maharashtra: MNS activists vandalise English signboards, police slap case

Police on Saturday filed cases against nine workers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) after they stoned several shops in Pune that did not have signboards in Marathi.

A case was registered against the nine including the party's Pune unit president Sainath Babar under the Indian Penal Code and the Mumbai Police Act, an official said.

The police action came after the MNS activists vandalised the English signboards of several commercial establishments, including those selling multinational brands, on JM Road and Tilak Road.

"We damaged nameplates that were not in Marathi. They should be replaced with those in Marathi," said MNS leader Ajay Shinde.

Raj meets CM

MNS president Raj Thackeray earlier in the day met Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde to discuss the issues of toll collection and Marathi signboards.

Earlier this week, Thackeray criticised the state government for failing to implement a Supreme Court directive on installing Marathi signboards on shops and other establishments.

The Supreme Court had earlier given shopkeepers a two-month deadline, which ended on November 25, to put up Marathi signboards outside their establishments.

Violators have been warned they will be fined Rs 2,000 per day.

(With agency inputs)