Thane police reduce bond amounts for MNS activists

Mumbai: The Thane police informed the Bombay high court that it has reduced the bond amount sought from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activists for forcibly evicting hawkers from outside Thane railway station on October 21.

The police informed the court that it had reduced the bond amount to Rs 1 lakh for each of the seven MNS activists against whom cases were registered with Naupada police. The activists, led by Thane MNS unit president Avinash Jadhav, approached the court, challenging demand of Rs 1 crore from Jadhav and Rs 25 lakh from each of the other six as bond amount by the Thane police.

A division bench of justices Ranjeet More and Dr Shalini Phansalkar Joshi was hearing a writ petition filed by Jadhav and six other MNS co-workers who were issued show-cause notices by the Thane police as to why they should not undertake bonds in light of their aggressive activities against hawkers in and around Thane railway station. The petition prayed that as the seven were not habitual offenders, demand for such high bond amounts had been made with malafide intentions by the ACP, Thane, and were bad in law, and hence, should be struck down.

On Monday, the Thane police, while making submissions against the petition, told the court that in light of claims of the petitioners, they had decided to reduce the bond amount and would ask the seven MNS activists to furnish bonds of Rs 1 lakh each. Surprised by the volte-face by Thane police, advocate Rajendra Shirodkar, counsel for Jadhav, sought time to file a rejoinder to the submissions by Thane police. The court has allowed it and kept the matter for hearing on December 4.

The Thane ACP, on the report by Naupada police, has used his special executive magistrate powers and issued showcause notices to Jadhav and the six others.