Actions To Be Taken If Someone Disrespects Marathi, Says Junior Maharashtra HM Yogesh Kadam

A Mumbai shopkeeper Babulal Khimji Chaudhary, was attacked by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena supremo Raj Thackeray's followers, allegedly over not speaking Marathi.

Junior Maharashtra Home Minister Yogesh Kadam commented on the incident when asked by reporters. He said "action will be taken" against anyone who "disrespects Marathi". However, nothing was mentioned about punishing the perpetrators of the attack against Babulal.

"Marathi will have to be spoken in Maharashtra. If you do not know Marathi (and) your attitude is 'we will not speak it at all', that will not work. You can say 'we will try to speak it'. If someone disrespects Marathi, action will be taken against them," said Kadam.

"We will give them this message... they should not take the law into their own hands. (They should) complain against the person concerned, then action will be taken," he added when asked about whether action against the attackers will be taken.

Aftermath Of The Incident

There has been widespread outrage over the assault on 48-year-old Babulal Khimji Chaudhary, who own the 20-year-old old 'Jodhpur Sweet Shop', a popular spot in the Mira Road area of Mumbai.

Babulal said that he considers Mumbai his 'karmabhoomi' and will fight for justice. Bollywood actor Ranvir Shorey was among those to speak out against the attack.

A Police complaint was filed two days after the incident occurred, only after the video of Babulal's assault went viral. On Thursday, four of the seven named in the Police complaint were questioned. Three others named did not appear for questioning even after being instructed. However, they were not arrested. The police declined to do so, saying they had not been called under legal provisions that would permit their detention at this stage.

The video of the assault, which took place past 10:30 pm Sunday, showed men surrounding Babulal and slapping and threatening him if he and his staff do not speak in Marathi. Bagharam, the staff member who was also threatened, is a migrant worker from Rajasthan.

The staff said attackers wanted water but when he spoke in Hindi, they demanded he speak in Marathi. "I said we speak all languages, so they threatened to beat me up," said Bagharam. The thugs then accosted Babulal and attacked him, he added.

The MNS, meanwhile, has refused to apologise for the incident or take any action against the involved workers. MNS has instead alleged that the arrogance of Babulal provoked MSN workers to attack.