A Shiv Sena leader and several others were booked in Thane for allegedly attacking some people and preventing them from entering a temple, a police official said on Thursday.
The incident took place late Wednesday night after a meeting called at a temple by accused Vikas Repale, who is a former corporator, the Wagle Estate police station official said.
“As per the complainant, who is a 25-year-old Dalit student, he and some others of his caste were stopped from entering the temple for the meeting by Repale. He told them why they should come to a temple when he (complainant) belongs to a different religion (Buddhism). As per the complaint, Repale tried to hit them with a rod while others with him threw slippers,” the official said.
“The group also threw stones when the complainant was going to the police station to get a case registered. We have booked Repale and some others under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for assault, unlawful assembly, provocation to cause rioting and other offences,” he added.
One of those booked has also been accused of allegedly committing atrocities against a member of the complainant’s group, while he has been charged with molestation on the complaint of a woman, the official said.
No one has been arrested in the case and further probe is underway, the Wagle Estate police station official added.
The two groups have a long-standing rivalry and the incident may have been fallout of old issues, he said.
Repale is considered a close aide of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, sources said.
Repale, meanwhile, told come local news outlets that he was not present at the site at time of the incident.
