MSRTC strike: Satara police in Mumbai to seek lawyer Gunaratna Sadavarte's custody

Mumbai: A Satara police team has come to Mumbai to seek the custody of lawyer Gunaratna Sadavarte in connection a case of alleged use of objectionable language during the agitations for Maratha reservation in 2020, official said on Wednesday.

Sadavarte, who represents the striking workers of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, was arrested along with several MSRTC workers by Mumbai police last week after they staged a protest outside NCP chief Sharad Pawar's residence here.

In Satara, a person had filed a police complaint alleging that Sadavarte used objectionable words on a TV channel during the Maratha reservation agitations in 2020, the official said.

Based on the complaint, the Satara police had registered an FIR against Sadavarte.

A team of Satara police, led by senior police inspector Bhagwan Nimbalkar, has reached Mumbai to seek Sadavarte's custody in that case, as his custody with the Mumbai police ends on Wednesday, the official said.

A group of MSRTC employees, who are on strike, had staged a fiery protest outside Pawar's bungalow on Pedder Road in south Mumbai on April 8 afternoon, accusing him of not doing anything to help them.

Later, the Mumbai police had arrested over 100 people, including Sadavarte.