A migrant auto-rickshaw driver was publicly assaulted near Virar railway station in Maharashtra’s Palghar district after allegedly refusing to speak in Marathi. The attackers were reportedly supporters of Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
A video of the incident has gone viral on social media, showing the driver arguing with Bhavesh Padolia, another migrant from Uttar Pradesh, and stating he would speak only in Hindi or Bhojpuri.
Shortly after the video surfaced, a group of men confronted the driver. He was slapped repeatedly, forced to apologise, and made to chant slogans in Marathi.
Uday Jadhav, Sena UBT’s Virar city chief, who was reportedly present during the assault, told the media, “We responded in true Shiv Sena style.”
The attack comes amid rising tensions around language politics in Maharashtra. Just earlier this month, MNS workers were caught on camera assaulting a food vendor in Mira Road for not speaking Marathi. Seven men were arrested in that case.
In another similar incident, MNS workers allegedly slapped 48-year-old shopkeeper Babulal Chaudhary and his Rajasthani employee, Bagharam, demanding they speak Marathi. Chaudhary reportedly told them that “all languages are spoken in this state.”
