Mhatre licence cancelled; Thackeray condoles families

Police today asked the Regional Transport Office to cancel the driving licence of Bal Thackeray’s personal assistant Ravindra Mhatre, even as the Shiv Sena chief expressed his grief over the deaths of the two women who were allegedly run over by Mhatre last week.

In a letter to the families of Leela Mashalkar and Sheila Pawaskar, who were killed in Vile Parle on March 26, Thackeray said: ‘‘I had a deep desire to visit you, but could not do so due to ill-health. Other party leaders too wanted to visit your house to express condolences, but it got delayed since the media blew the incident out of proportion.’’

The letter, copies of which were released to the media, was handed over by Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray and senior party leader Manohar Joshi to the victims’ family members at their residences today.

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‘‘The grave loss to you due to loss of family members is beyond my imagination,’’ Thackeray said, adding, ‘‘I pray to God to provide you the power to face the difficult situation.’’

The Sena chief further said that he would visit the victims’ families if his health permits.