Mumbai: Twelve persons, including eight
policemen, were injured when workers of Shiv Sena and Congress
clashed outside Dadar railway station here in a bid to pocket
credit for a new train service, prompting the police to cane
charge them.
A rioting case was registered against about 250 workers
of Shiv Sena, including its MPs Sanjay Raut and Bharat Kumar
Raut, and a separate case was filed against 240 Congress
activists, including Nilesh and Nitesh Rane, two sons of
Revenue Minister Narayan Rane, police said.
"Sena activists and supporters of Congress leader Narayan
Rane gathered outside the station last night claiming credit
for the new train service between Mumbai and Sawantwadi. This
led to heated arguments and subsequent clashes between both
the party workers as they began pelting stones at each other,"
Senior Police Inspector at Matunga Police Station Sunil
Deshmukh said.
Police canecharged the warring workers.
Railways had announced 14 special trains between Mumbai
and Sawantwadi in Konkan region beginning yesterday ahead of
the ten-day Ganeshotsav as a large number of devotees go to
Sawantwadi to worship the deity.
Narayan Rane visited the site after the clashes and said
Sena had a habit of claiming credit without doing anything.
"We have taken up the issue with the Railways and keeping
commuters problems in mind, the new rail service was
subsequently started," he said.
Raut, who had participated in the protest, said "the
entire credit to start this train service goes to Uddhav
Thackeray (Sena executive president). His efforts resulted in
the start of Sawantwadi train."
Police said no arrests had been made.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, September 09, 2010, 00:27