Mumbai: Police have claimed to have arrested a thief who committed theft in the limits of Milind police station, against whom several cases of theft and burglary are registered in Mumbai. Mumbai Zone 7 DCP Vijay Kant Sagare, while addressing a press conference here, said that the accused came to Mumbai by flight with the intention of stealing and broke into several 5 houses.

Theft cases are registered against him in Nehru Nagar, Milind, Alwaye, Navi Mumbai. One and a half lakh silver ornaments weighing two kg, totaling Rs 15 lakh have been seized. Cases of stalking are also registered against the criminal Rajesh in Dombivali, Vishnu Nagar, Vishai, Vitthalwadi, Manpara, Pan police stations.

The accused told that he came to Mumbai from Varanasi by plane on March 13, 2025 and robbed five houses in 15 days.

Mumbai, April 5: Minister of Marathi Language Uday Samant on Saturday said the Maharashtra government and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray share the same view that everyone living in the state should be able to speak Marathi, while also respecting all other languages.

“Respect for Marathi should be maintained, just as we respect other languages,” Samant said after meeting Raj Thackeray in Mumbai here on Saturday.

The meeting comes amid MNS’s renewed push to assert Marathi identity ahead of civic polls across major cities, including Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nashik, and Nagpur.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Samant said, “Raj Thackeray had invited me, as the Minister for Marathi Language, to discuss ongoing developments regarding the use of Marathi in the state. Before coming, I informed the Shiv Sena chief and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and took his permission.”

Samant said Raj Thackeray had shared suggestions on how to ensure institutions, particularly banks, implement the use of Marathi in day-to-day business.

“I will personally speak to Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and CM Devendra Fadnavis. We will work towards improvements,” he said.

“Raj Thackeray and the state government have a common stand — Marathi must be respected, and all residents of Maharashtra should learn the language. I will call a meeting of all committees in the state to ensure that institutions dealing with the public, like banks, conduct their business in Marathi. We will then decide what action needs to be taken,” Samant added.

The meeting took place a day after CM Fadnavis warned that while insisting on the use of Marathi is not wrong, taking the law into one’s hands in the process would not be tolerated. “Those who do so will be dealt with appropriately,” he said, responding to incidents of aggressive promotion of Marathi by MNS cadres.

Samant acknowledged that many languages are spoken in Maharashtra and the state has welcomed people from different backgrounds. “We respect them, and MNS does too. But bullying and injustice toward Marathi speakers must stop. Raj Thackeray suggested that Marathi should be given legal protection,” he said.

He also reiterated that banks and institutions that engage daily with Marathi-speaking citizens must use the language in their services. “A meeting of the police department and district collectors will be held in the next eight to ten days. A committee has already been formed to promote the Marathi language, headed by the respective district collectors. These committees will decide on the necessary action against institutions that neglect Marathi.”

Meanwhile, MNS spokesperson Sandip Deshpande took a sharper tone, saying on X, “Those who do not want to speak Marathi can leave Maharashtra. Those who refuse to speak Marathi while living in the state are traitors.”

He added that MNS’ stance — that Marathi must be respected in Maharashtra just like local languages are in other states — has found support among linguistic identity organizations in other regions.

“Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, for instance, has extended full support to Raj Thackeray’s stand,” Deshpande said.

Pune, April 5: Maharashtra BJP president and Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule here on Saturday launched a sharp attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, accusing him of betraying the ideals and vision of his father, Balasaheb Thackeray, by opposing the Waqf Amendment Bill.

Bawankule claimed that Thackeray’s stance was driven by vote-bank politics ahead of the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.

“Uddhav Thackeray’s position on the Waqf Amendment Bill is not even acceptable to his own workers. I’ve received messages from across the state suggesting that many Shiv Sainiks are disillusioned and considering quitting the party. His Shiv Sena won’t survive another year,” Bawankule asserted.

He further alleged, “By opposing the Waqf Amendment Bill, Uddhav Thackeray has committed a serious offence.”

On Friday, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis defended the Bill, stating that it reflects the secular and democratic spirit enshrined in the Constitution.

“The Waqf Board that existed till now was a product of appeasement politics. It neither benefited the minority community nor contributed to any charitable cause. On the contrary, it was used to forcibly grab land. The biggest Waqf land scam in Maharashtra happened during the Congress regime. We had even initiated an inquiry into it,” Fadnavis said.

He added that the amended law would bring much-needed transparency and ensure that the benefits reach the common Muslim.

“The Bill does not infringe upon any religious beliefs. It merely corrects historical wrongs. It also ensures women’s representation on the Waqf Board and removes the earlier provision that barred judicial scrutiny of its actions,” he said.

Fadnavis also alleged that Waqf lands were often taken over by the Board and later by Congress leaders, adding, “The Bill is aimed at ending this loot. Those who truly follow Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideals should support it.”

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who also heads a faction of the Shiv Sena, accused Thackeray of abandoning Hindutva and compromising Balasaheb’s principles. “His opposition to the Bill exposes his real priorities — power over people’s welfare,” Shinde said.