Mumbai Police has registered a case against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, MNS's Amit Thackeray and 23 others in connection with a protest in the city's Shivaji Park area against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The police have invoked multiple provisions of the law, including Section 189(2) (unlawful assembly) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Aaditya Thackeray staged a sit-in on the road outside Shivaji Park and allegedly stopped a police van carrying detained protesters on Sunday, October 11.
The Mumbai protest, called in support of Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP's) agitation against Kumar, intensified on Sunday after Aaditya Thackeray and cousin Amit Thackeray arrived with hundreds of supporters, triggering sporadic sit-ins and sloganeering amid massive police deployment.
The area saw detentions of dozens of people, including social activist Anjali Damania, who had arrived to take part in the protest throughout the afternoon.
The Thackeray cousins, along with supporters, came to the vicinity of the iconic ground in the evening, bashing what they described as "cowardly" and "dictatorial" BJP governments at the Centre and Maharashtra.
They sought the release of those detained by the police. The leaders and workers of Shiv Sena (UBT) and the MNS protested outside Shivaji Park police station, where most of the detainees were taken.
Aaditya Thackeray, who was with brother Tejas Thackeray, claimed police had attacked and manhandled his party workers, including women. He alleged that the saree of a woman Shiv Sena (UBT) worker got torn in the melee.
The FIR filed by the police also names MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande, and Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Varun Sardesai and Mahesh Sawant.
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(With inputs from Rahul, PTI)