Nanded: In another instance of vigilantism over language, workers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) allegedly assaulted a Hindi-speaking migrant worker at the state transport bus stand in Nanded on Wednesday. The attendant, posted outside the ladies’ toilet, was reportedly targeted for refusing to speak in Marathi when questioned by a local.

The incident came to light after multiple videos surfaced on social media. In one clip, a man is seen confronting the attendant for collecting Rs 5 from women for using the toilet, which is generally free. When asked to respond in Marathi, the attendant allegedly said, “I will not speak Marathi, do what you want to do.” The video was reportedly circulated among local MNS workers, including the party’s Nanded city chief.

Video Shows MNS Workers Assaulting Man

Soon after, another video showed a group of men wearing MNS scarves slapping and punching the attendant. They are heard berating him not only for refusing to speak Marathi but also accusing him of misbehaving with women and being rude.

Under pressure, the man was made to deliver a forced apology on camera, stating in Marathi: “I apologise to Marathi people and to Raj Thackeray. I will not repeat this mistake again.” Despite the videos going viral, no formal FIR had been registered till Wednesday evening.

Growing Incidents Of Violence Involving MNS Workers

This episode adds to a growing list of similar incidents involving MNS workers taking offense over language. Just earlier this month, MNS cadres had allegedly assaulted shopkeepers in Mira Road, Thane and Vikhroli for not speaking Marathi. The party has long positioned itself as a protector of Marathi identity, often using aggressive means.

Party chief Raj Thackeray had previously said he was “proud” of MNS workers for “defending Marathi pride,” while Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had condemned such vigilantism. “No one has the right to assault someone for not speaking a particular language,” Fadnavis had said.

Korba: Two women teachers were killed and ten other persons injured after a van in which they were travelling collided with a trailer truck in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district on Thursday, police said.

About The Accident

The accident occurred in the morning near Tanakhar village when 11 staffers and two students of Eklavya Model Residential School, run by the tribal development department, in Pondi Uproda village were heading to their institute from Katghora town, a police official said.

As per preliminary information, the van driver attempted to overtake another vehicle and ended up colliding with a truck, coming from the opposite direction.

A total of 12 occupants of the van sustained injuries, he said.

The victims were taken to the Community Health Centre Katghora, from where the seriously injured persons were referred to different hospitals, he said.

Two teachers, identified as Anjana Sharma (30), a resident of Delhi, and Manju Sharma (32) of Haryana, succumbed to their wounds during treatment at a hospital, he said.

The two deceased were staying in rented houses in Katghora.

Five injured persons have been admitted to a hospital in Korba, two in Bilaspur, and three others, who sustained minor injuries, in Katghora, he said.

A case has been registered and a probe is underway, he added.

Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodian military targets on Thursday as Cambodia fired rockets and artillery, killing a civilian, in a dramatic escalation of a long-running border row between the two neighbours.

The neighbours are locked in a bitter spat over an area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of both countries and Laos meet, and which is home to several ancient temples.

The squabble has dragged on for decades, flaring into bloody military clashes more than 15 years ago and again in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a firefight.

The conflict blazed up on Thursday, with Cambodia firing rockets and artillery shells into Thailand and the Thai military scrambling F-16 jets to carry out air strikes.

Six jets were deployed from Ubon Ratchathani province, hitting two “Cambodian military targets on the ground”, according to Thai military deputy spokesperson Ritcha Suksuwanon. 

The Thai prime minister’s office said a Cambodian artillery shell hit a house over the border, killing one civilian and wounding three others, including a five-year-old child.

Both sides blamed the other for starting the fighting, which erupted near two temples on the border between the Thai province of Surin and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey.

“The Thai military violated the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia by launching an armed assault on Cambodian forces stationed to defend the nation’s sovereign territory,” defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said in a statement.

“In response, the Cambodian armed forces exercised their legitimate right to self-defence, in full accordance with international law, to repel the Thai incursion and protect Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The Thai military blamed Cambodian soldiers for firing first, and later accused them of a “targeted attack on civilians”, saying two BM-21 rockets had hit a community in Surin’s Kap Choeng district, wounding three people.

According to the Thai military, the clashes began around 7:35 am (0035 GMT) when a unit guarding Ta Muen temple heard a Cambodian drone overhead.

Later, six armed Cambodian soldiers, including one carrying a rocket-propelled grenade, approached a barbed-wired fence in front of the Thai post, the army said.

Thai soldiers shouted to warn them, the army said, but around 8:20 am, Cambodian forces opened fire toward the eastern side of the temple, about 200 metres from the Thai base. 

Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said “the situation requires careful handling, and we must act in accordance with international law”.

“We will do our best to protect our sovereignty,” he said.

Thailand’s embassy in Phnom Penh urged its nationals to leave Cambodia “as soon as possible” unless they had urgent reasons to remain, in a Facebook post.

Long-Running Row 

The violence came hours after Thailand expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own envoy in protest after five members of a Thai military patrol were wounded by a landmine. 

Wechayachai said an investigation by the Thai military found evidence that Cambodia had laid new landmines in the disputed border area — a claim denied by Phnom Penh.

On Thursday morning, Cambodia announced it was downgrading ties to “the lowest level”, pulling out all but one of its diplomats and expelling their Thai equivalents from Phnom Penh.

Recent weeks have seen a series of tit-for-tat swipes by both sides, with Thailand restricting border crossings and Cambodia halting certain imports.

The border row also kicked off a domestic political crisis in Thailand, where prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended from office pending an ethics probe over her conduct.

A diplomatic call between Paetongtarn and Hun Sen, Cambodia’s former longtime ruler and father of Prime Minister Hun Manet, was leaked from the Cambodian side, sparking a judicial investigation.

Last week, Hun Manet announced that Cambodia would start conscripting civilians next year, activating a long-dormant mandatory draft law.