Three Shiv Sena office bearers have been arrested in Navi Mumbai in connection with a three-year-old case from 2017 when demonstrations had swept the country after the ghastly terrorist attack against Hindu pilgrims on their way from Amarnath temple in the Kashmir Valley.
On July 10, 2017, a bus carrying 60 pilgrims was returning from the Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir. Around 8:30 pm, when the bus reached Batengoo in Amarnath district, a group of Islamic terrorists had attacked the bus and started firing indiscriminately. It resulted in the deaths of eight passengers and some others were grievously injured. The origins of the terrorists were traced to Pakistan after which protests broke out in different parts of the country.
Following the gruesome attack in Amarnath which claimed lives of 8 Hindu pilgrims, protests erupted in different parts of the country against the terror attack. There were demonstrations against the involvement of Pakistan in the terror attack. Shiv Sena too staged a protest in Navi Mumbai against the continued support of Pakistan to the nefarious elements bent on creating anarchy in India. Pakistani flags were also burnt during the protest at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk in Vashi.
At that time, a complaint was registered against Shiv Sena leaders Vijay Mane, Sameer Bagwan and Ganpat Shelar for staging the protest. All three have reportedly consistently missed the court hearings after which arrest warrants were issued against them. However, the Vashi police on Thursday suddenly sprung into action and arrested the three office-bearers from their respective residences in Vashi.
The arrests come at a time when Maharashtra is witnessing a heightened political action ahead of the Municipal polls in the state. Speculations are rife that the action initiated against the Shiv Sena functionaries has less to do with the judiciary and more with the politics in the state.
