Outside ED office: NCP workers avoid coming in groups, claim to be litigants, staffers who forgot ID card

On a day that was suffused with hurt Maratha sentiments among NCP supporters over Pawar being named by the ED in the alleged money laundering case, the Shivaji trope seemed to resonate with many, who said they had taken public transport, avoided coming in groups and pretended to be employees of establishments in the largely commercial and business area of south Mumbai to evade police restrictions.

NCP workers chanted slogans claiming that Pawar was being “targetted” ahead of the state elections by the BJP-led government. “He (Pawar) is not involved in the cooperative bank case. The government is acting like a dictator and targeting him before the election. By volunteering to appear before the ED even without being summoned, he has showed that he is not afraid to face the agency and the allegations,” said another worker, Vinay Tatkande, who had traveled to Mumbai with 50 others from Wardha district.

Anticipating a law and order situation, prohibitions under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code were imposed in jurisdictions of seven police stations in south Mumbai late Thursday.

Mumbai Police uses a drone to monitor areas around the NCP office. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

The police also set up checkposts at all the entry points into the city, including Vashi and Airoli in Navi Mumbai and the Mulund checknaka, leading to traffic snarls. Entry and exit points to Ballard Estate from the end of P D’Mello Road till RBI were barricaded.

“We came in by claiming that we had some work at an establishment nearby or that we were employees here and had forgotten our identity cards. Some other workers claimed that they were litigants in the metropolitan court in the area. We came in smaller numbers,” said a party worker.

A police officer said NCP workers gathering at Ballard Estate despite prohibitory orders cannot be called a lapse. “Many came in ones and twos. No mob was allowed to enter. We had also kept a watch for any suspicious activity at entry points into the city. Many may have taken the public transport. We tried our best to ensure that law and order was maintained,” said a spokesperson for the police. He added that no preventive arrests or detentions were made.

While senior NCP leaders gathered at Pawar’s residence, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant and other party workers, joined the NCP workers outside the ED office donning caps with slogans like “Mi, Sahebasobat, (I am with saheb)”.

After it was announced by 1.30 pm that Pawar had postponed his appearance before the ED, many continued sloganeering in support of him, and against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah. Many supporters, belonging to the Maratha community, said that they looked at Pawar as their leader and him being named as an accused was “injustice” towards all of them.

Daily commuters complained of severe delays caused by traffic restrictions. Many said that it took over an hour to cover a stretch of 3 km near the Mulund checknaka due to the nakabandi. “It took me three hours to reach Andheri from Thane. The traffic was at a standstill for over an hour near the checknaka due to bandobast,” said Thane-resident Vaidehi Joshi. BEST buses on many routes were also diverted.