Shutdown in Vasai against arrest of lawmaker

THANE - At least five vehicles were damaged in stone pelting in Vasai and surrounding villages of Thane as protesters observed a shutdown Sunday against the arrest of legislator Vivek Pandit, police said.

Pandit, Shramjeevi Sanghatana leader and independent MLA, was nabbed late Saturday night in connection with the blockade of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway.

An official of Vasai police said that protesters pelted stones at passing vehicles, including a bus, smashing the glass panes and damaging them.

However, he said there were no arrests made in connection with the incidents till afternoon.

Meanwhile, large areas of Vasai town and surrounding villages observed a shutdown since morning in protest against the arrest of Pandit.

This was the second day of protests demanding delinking of 18 villages from the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC).

In the first phase of the agitation in early March, the Shramjeevi Santhatana had succeeded in getting the government to concede to their main demand of delinking 53 villages from VVMC.

However, the government delinked 35 and kept the fate of the remaining 18 in abeyance, prompting the Shramjeevi Sanghatana to revive its agitation.

Pandit, an independent legislator backed by the Shiv Sena, reiterated before mediapersons that the state government’s decision to exclude only 35 villages from the VVMC was not acceptable to them.

“We want even the remaining 18 villages to be delinked from the VVMC. Until this is done, the agitation will continue,” he warned.

Pandit, who had undertaken an indefinite hunger strike last month for this, called it off after Chief Minister Ashok Chavan assured that his demands would be met.

The 53 villages have a total population of around 60,000, mostly poor tribals and farmers.