Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray reprimanded a party functionary for his protest actions
NASHIK: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has reprimanded Vikram Randhave, a party functionary after a protest over stray dog attacks in Maharashtra’s Niphad saw two puppies being pulled out of sacks and placed on a municipal official’s desk.Police have registered a case against Yuva Sena (UBT) district functionary Vikram Randhave and his associates for allegedly obstructing a public servant and under provisions relating to animal cruelty, officials said. No arrests have been made so far.The incident took place at the Niphad Nagar Panchayat office, where Randhave and a group of Yuva Sena activists allegedly entered the chamber of chief officer Dheeraj Bhamre to protest against what they claimed was inaction over the growing stray dog menace.A video of the incident, which has gone viral on social media, shows Randhave taking two puppies out of sacks and placing them on Bhamre’s desk. He also placed a garland made of currency notes on the desk as part of the protest.Randhave is heard telling Bhamre that activists had been raising the issue of stray dogs for months but their pleas had been ignored. Bhamre told the protesters that the civic body had already issued work tenders to address the problem, police said.Randhave warned that if action was not taken, the protesters would return with more dogs as well as children and women affected by dog attacks.He claimed that more than 400 stray dogs were roaming within the Nagar Panchayat limits and that over 100 residents suffered dog bites every month. He also cited the threat posed to children, senior citizens and motorists.Reacting to the video, Thackeray said he was “equally disturbed” by the manner in which the puppies were handled. In a post on X, he said the civic authorities could be questioned over alleged inaction on dog bites and the need to shift dogs to proper shelters, but “the protest should NOT have had the dogs being handled in such a manner”.Thackeray said he had issued a stern warning to the office-bearer, asked him to apologise and told him not to conduct protests in such a manner. He said Randhave had apologised and expressed regret, and promised that such an act would not be repeated.“This does not go with the Party line at all,” Thackeray said.