Striking MSRTC employees try to barge into Sharad Pawar’s house, 104 held

The incident took place a day after the Bombay High Court disposed the contempt plea filed in a writ petition moved by MSRTC against striking employees and directed the corporation to drop charges against the staffers and reinstate those who were terminated if they resume work by April 22.

Security outside NCP chief Sharad Pawar residence has been ramped up by the Mumbai Police. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)

Nearly 90,000 employees of the MSRTC have been on strike since last October demanding the corporation be merged with the state so that the employees can avail the benefits of government servants. While many were expecting that the strike would be withdrawn on Friday, a group of around a hundred protesters gathered around 3.15 pm at Silver Oak. The police said the protesters started raising slogans against Pawar, accusing him of not making any effort to resolve their issues. After a few minutes, the protesters attempted to enter the Silver Oak premises and were stopped by security. This is when the protesters allegedly turned violent and tried to break security barricades.

Pawar’s daughter and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule tried to placate the protesters outside the house. Later, speaking to mediapersons, Sule said her house was attacked. “I am thankful to the Mumbai Police for their prompt reaction… What has happened today is very unfortunate…”

The police said that as soon as the protesters turned violent, they started detaining them. A case was registered against 132 people.

Soon after the incident, security was tightened at residences of several state ministers in Mumbai, including Transport Minister Anil Parab.

The Azad Maidan police also barricaded the entrance and exit gates of Azad Maidan, where hundreds of MSRTC staffers are protesting. At Azad Maidan, many striking employees claimed that they don’t have any idea who attacked Pawar’s house. Claiming that Pawar did not help them, a protester said, “We have been protesting at Azad Maidan for over five months now but nobody listened to us. Pawar is responsible for the suicides of the workers…”

Claiming that he was on the side of the workers, Pawar said the employees were being misguided by those who are leading them. “If the leader is immature then even the followers can get misguided…”. The CM termed the attack as reprehensible. Walse Patil, meanwhile, instructed Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey and Joint Commissioner (Law and Order) Vishwas Nangre Patil to take strict action against those responsible.