Acquittal of MP Ravindra Waikar in the 2005 violence case

Mumbai, dated 12: Twenty years ago, due to political disputes, a special court acquitted Member of Parliament Ravindra Waikar and 28 former Shiv Sena activists in the case of violence committed by a mob in the Dadar area due to lack of evidence. Additional Sessions Judge Satyanarayan Navandar, who oversees cases filed against MPs and MLAs, acquitted Waikar and other accused of charges of rioting, unlawful assembly, and other allegations while delivering the verdict in this case.

Current MLA (Thackeray faction) Mahesh Sawant and former corporator Vishakha Raut are included among the other accused besides Vaikar. It cannot be definitively stated whether the accused were part of the illegal mob that caused the riot, the court noted while acquitting the accused. Due to political enmity, a law and order issue arose throughout the entire city of Mumbai between two political factions; however, the court stated in the verdict that the accused were acquitted because their involvement could not be identified.

What is the matter?

After being expelled from Shiv Sena, the then Shiv Sena leader Narayan Rane announced his decision to join the Congress. Subsequently, on July 24, 2005, a crowd gathered for a demonstration at Zakhadevi Chowk in Dadar. After some time, the crowd turned violent and started pelting stones at the police, their vehicles, and BEST buses. As a result, a law and order situation arose in the area. In this case, a riot case was filed against Vaikar and other accused.