RAJ THACKERAY OUT ON BAIL, GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRA PLANS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUMBAI 000513

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV ASEC CASC IN
SUBJECT: RAJ THACKERAY OUT ON BAIL, GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRA PLANS
FINES FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE DURING POLITICAL PROTEST

REF: MUMBAI 505


1. (U) Summary: Facing multiple criminal charges across
Maharashtra stemming from October 19 attacks against North
Indian candidates for the Indian Railway exam by his Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena supporters, Raj Thackeray appealed to the
Sessions Court and was granted preemptory bail and an order
directing that all cases be combined into one action against
him. Thackeray walked free at 4:55 on October 22. In the wake of
Thackeray's arrest on October 21, many areas of Maharashtra were
vandalized and riots broke out despite curfew orders. Mumbai has
been relatively since the 22nd. The American School closed as a
precautionary measure on the 22nd. Legal maneuvering is likely
to continue as the state looks for ways to prevent Thackeray
from inciting violence against north Indians. End Summary.


2. (U) Controversial Maharashtra leader Raj Thackeray of the
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Party was released on bail from
the court in the northern Mumbai suburb of Bandra late on
October 21, on the ground that he was not a direct participant
in the attacks on the north Indians on October 19. He was
immediately arrested on charges filed against him in a court in
Kalyan, in the Thane Rural District of Maharashtra approximately
50 kilometers northeast of Mumbai. The Government of Maharashtra
pursued a calculated strategy of registering a series of cases
against Thackeray across the state to keep him in custody even
if granted bail by the courts. As he was released on bail in
Kalyan late the 22nd, Railway police and Thane police stood
ready with arrest warrants, but they were thwarted from
executing the warrants as Thackeray's lawyers had obtained an
order from the Sessions Court granting preemptory bail on all
pending charges and ordering that the cases related to the
October 19 attacks be combined. Thackeray walked free from the
court in Kalyan at 4:55 pm on October 22.


3. (U) Post distributed a warden message the evening of
October 21 warning Americans to avoid large crowds and exercise
caution in the vicinity of areas of unrest. Traffic in Mumbai
flowed smoothly on the 22nd as taxis and many auto drivers
stayed home in fear of continued violence. The American School
of Bombay closed on the 22nds as a precautionary measure, as did
its neighbor the Ambani International School, but classes
resumed on the 23rd.


4. (U) Government of Maharashtra passed an ordinance on October
22, authorizing the collector, a senior bureaucrat, of each
district to fine any political organization that causes
destruction of public property in the course of its protests.
The agitation over Thackeray's arrest on October 20 reportedly
led to destruction of or damage to 250 to 350 cabs, 115 city
buses and many private vehicles in Mumbai alone on October 21;
200 buses of Maharashtra state transport corporation were
damaged throughout the state. According to Anami Roy, chief of
Maharashtra police, 125 cases of arson, rioting and stone
throwing were registered on October 21 and 2,085 people were
arrested. A curfew was declared in Kalyan, yet over 1,000 MNS
supports assembled outside the courthouse, demonstrating
complete lack of regard for the law. The mob grew violent,
throwing stones, burning four bikes and a car.


5. (U) According to reliable but un-confirmed print media
reports, four youths (two from Uttar Pradesh and two from
Maharashtra) died in rioting between MNS and north Indian
migrants the evening of October 21, in the northern suburb of
Kalyan where Thackeray was held in police custody. Police
refused comment on this statistic.


6. (U) Thackeray's arrest generated predictable reactions across
the political spectrum in the Indian parliament on October 21
and 22. Rashtriya Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party --
representing the north Indian migrants in Maharashtra, said that
Thackeray's arrest was too little too late and demanded sterner
action. Regional parties, Shiv Sena and the Biju Janata Dal of
Orissa pointed out that the objection raised by MNS regarding
cornering of jobs in the Indian Railways by residents of Bihar
had led earlier to mass agitations (and attacks on North Indian
candidates appearing for recruitment tests) in Karnataka,
Orissa, and Punjab. These parties alleged that Indian Railway
Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav skewed hiring policies to benefit
youth from his home state. These parties maintained that a
system of preferential hiring for local residents for the jobs
in that particular state must evolve to stave off future
agitations. The BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj alleged that lack
of stern action against Thackeray was calculated
Congress-Nationalist Congress party strategy to fracture the
vote-base of opposition parties in Maharashtra.


7. (U) Comment: The strategy of the Congress-led Government of
Maharashtra to keep Thackeray immobilized until the current
parliamentary session ends on October 24 was foiled by
Thackeray's successful appeal to the Sessions Court. It is too

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early to say if north Indians will protest Thackeray's release,
but post anticipates a respite in the violence for the time
being. End comment.
FOLMSBEE