A private security guard in Mumbai’s Powai area was allegedly assaulted by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers on Monday night for not speaking Marathi and allegedly disrespecting the language.
A video of the assault, which surfaced on Facebook, shows the security guard being slapped by MNS members while bystanders attempt to intervene. In the footage, the victim is later seen apologising with folded hands.
Following the incident, Powai Police registered an FIR against four MNS workers, identified as Ajinkya, Vijay Nikam, Sanjay Mule and Mahesh Giram, for assaulting the guard.
According to reports, the altercation began when the security guard, identified as Bhavaniprasad Aniruddha, got into an argument with a local Marathi speaker named Ajinkya outside the L&T building in Powai. During the exchange, Aniruddha who hails from North India and is not fluent in Marathi, reportedly made a dismissive remark, saying, “Marathi gaya tel lene” (loosely meaning “forget Marathi”).
The comment allegedly angered the MNS workers present at the scene, leading to the physical assault. The attackers insisted that Aniruddha should learn Marathi and speak the language respectfully, justifying their actions by claiming that he had insulted Marathi culture.
The Powai Police have launched an investigation into the incident and stated that further action will be taken based on their findings.
Earlier on Tuesday (April 1), MNS activists took aggressive measures to promote Marathi as the primary language in public interactions. Party workers distributed letters across banks in Thane, asking employees to communicate with customers in Marathi. They also pulled down a banner outside a bank in the city because it had no Marathi text, PTI reported.
MNS’s district chief Avinash Jadhav reinforced the party’s hardline stance, stating there would be “zero tolerance for disrespect towards Marathi by bank officials and employees”. This follows MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s speech on Gudi Padwa, where he reiterated the party’s demand to make Marathi mandatory for official purposes.