Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) general secretary Sandeep Deshpande and other party leaders were arrested on Tuesday for travelling in local trains as part of a protest to demand that the services be made available for common citizens also.
The Government Railway Police (GRP) arrested Deshpande and three other MNS leaders under IPC Sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), and the Disaster Management Act, the Indian Railways Act and other COVID-19 prevention measures of Maharashtra.
At present, only certain sections, including the essential services staff and government employees, are allowed to travel in local trains. MNS general secretary Sandeep Deshpande to Twitter and shared a video saying: "MNS's "savinay kaydebhang" (civil disobedience) protest succeeds."
MNS general secretary Sandeep Deshpande in a video message on Monday said that the Maharashtra government has allowed common people to travel by state transport (ST) buses to reach their work places, but not in local trains, which is "ironical".
"We requested the government several times to allow common people to travel in local trains as they face hardships while travelling in ST buses which consumes a lot of their time," he said in the video clip, in which he could be seen travelling in a local train with some other party leaders.
