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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Raj Thackeray arrested for Mumbai toll protests, released later
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Raj Thackeray arrested for Mumbai toll protests, released later

Thackeray was released following an assurance by MNS that it will call off its stir against road toll

Mumbai police said Raj Thackeray was detained to ensure that law and order in the city and state is maintained. Photo: HTPremium
Mumbai police said Raj Thackeray was detained to ensure that law and order in the city and state is maintained. Photo: HT

Mumbai: Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray was on Wednesday detained by police and released two hours later following an assurance by the party that it will call off its stir against road toll.

“The chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has assured me a meeting to discuss the issue tomorrow (Thursday) morning itself, so I agreed to his request of withdrawing the agitation," Thackeray told reporters.

Mumbai police said Thackeray was detained to ensure that law and order in the city and state is maintained.

Thackeray was taken into detention early on Wednesday at Chembur, an eastern suburb of the city, while on his way to Navi Mumbai to lead a “rasta roko" protest on the Mumbai-Pune highway.

On Tuesday, the MNS had announced that party workers will stage protests on all national and state highways in Maharashtra to protest against the state government’s toll tax policy, which MNS says is “unjust".

Marathi news channels, meanwhile, reported huge traffic jams on all major highways leading to the city, including the Mumbai-Pune highway, Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway and Mumbai-Nashik highway.

According to the Press Trust of India news agency, police took MNS workers into custody at several places, including Pune, Ahmednagar and Vasai. Protesters burnt tyres in Thane town and forcibly deflated tyres of some vehicles in Pune.

The state’s policy on toll tax came into focus last month following a local agitation in Kolhapur, in southern Maharashtra, against the collection of toll charges by IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd, which built roads in and around the city. Toll collections by IRB which were due to begin in 2011, are still to start due to these protests.

Since then, the issue has been picked up by other political parties such as the MNS and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who are now demanding a review of toll policies. The chief minister has indicated that the government was willing to look at possible changes to the policies.

PTI contributed to this story.

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Published: 12 Feb 2014, 12:35 PM IST
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