MUMBAI, 2 March 2008 — Four unidentified people hurled empty bottles and threw stones on Friday night at Janak bungalow owned by film star Amitabh Bachchan. The bungalow is located on Vile Parle Road in the Mumbai suburb of Juhu.
According to the police at 11 p.m. on Friday night, four youths in a car arrived at the bungalow which houses the office of Amitabh Bachchan Company Limited (ABCL) and gymnasium, shouted slogans and hurled empty liquor bottles and threw stones. A complaint was lodged by an official of the ABCL with the Juhu police and the police are investigating the matter.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Vinay Chaube said security was beefed up at the bungalow after the attack.
Meanwhile the general secretary of the Samajwadi Party, Amar Singh, a close friend of the actor, has demanded an immediate inquiry into the attack on the bungalow. He alleged that the attackers were members of Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which has launched a campaign against North Indian migrants working in Maharashtra.
Adding fuel to the fire, Bharatiya Janashakti Party President and firebrand Hindu leader Uma Bharti, challenged Raj Thackeray to prevent her from performing the North Indian Hindu rituals of Chhath in Mumbai. She was speaking at a function in Shajapur in the central state of Madhya Pradesh yesterday.
Bharti said: “If Raj has the guts and courage, let him stop me from performing the rituals.” Raj is only performing such stunts to ensure his political survival and in the process making statements that are not in the interest of the country, she added.
Raj has suspended the agitation against North Indians.
“The MNS agitation against North Indians has been withdrawn temporarily keeping in mind the ongoing Board examinations. Continuation of the agitation would have caused harm to the student community, and we withdrew the agitation in the interest of the students. If the government adopts the policy of gagging me, then my supporters would not sit silent and would rigorously pursue the agitation,” Raj warned.
The Shiv Sena, which has been in a state of confusion after Raj hijacked their pro-Marathi campaign, is now demanding that all signposts showing directions on the Mumbai-Pune and Mumbai-Nashik Express should be in Marathi and not in the English language.
The Shiv Sena has written a letter to Mohammed Hussain Shaikh, the executive engineer of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, demanding that display boards showing directions, places, and locations in English should be immediately removed and replaced with those written in Marathi.
It warned of serious consequences if this demand is not complied with and implemented.
