Abhishek Ghosalkar, the son of a Shiv Sena leader affiliated with Uddhav Thackeray's faction, was shot during a Facebook live session on Thursday. The incident occurred during a heated exchange between Abhishek and Mauris Noronha, also known as Morris Bhai. Morris allegedly brandished a firearm and fired at Abhishek before turning the weapon on himself. Abhishek, a former Thackeray Group corporator, was hit by three bullets in Dahisar and was rushed to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Who was Mauris Noronha?
On his social media profiles, Mauris Noronha, popularly called Mauris bhai in Borivali, described himself as an award-winning social worker, a Covid warrior and a philanthropist. Mauris Noronha planned a trip to infant Jesus shrine in Nashik on February 10 for the people of the locality which the Uddav Sena leader referred to during the Facebook live streaming.
On January 29, Mauris Noronha on his Instagram page wrote: "You can't defeat a man who doesn't care about pain, loss, disrespect, heartbreak & rejection"Mauris was apparently trying to enter the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena. Apparently, both Mauris Noronha and Abhishek Ghosalkar wanted to contest from Ward No 1.
In 2022, police issued a lookout notice for Mauris for allegedly blackmailing, raping, cheating and threatening a 48-year old woman. The allegations dated back to 2014 but the complaint was lodged in 2022. Noronha was arrested in connection with the case.
A photo of Mauris receiving an award from Amruta Fadnavis, wife of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, surfaced after Thursday's incident.