The Mumbai Police on Tuesday morning, September 2, issued a notice to Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who has been on hunger strike for the past four days. The police asked him to vacate Azad Maidan in south Mumbai. They also sought an explanation from him over multiple violations allegedly committed by his supporters, including traffic jams, damage to public property, and illegal activities at the protest site.
The Azad Maidan Police has issued a notice to Jarange Patil's core committee and has asked them to vacate Azad Maidan as soon as possible. Also, the police have taken note of Jarange Patil's statements to the media in the letter and mentioned it in the notice, reported news agency ANI.
The noticed served by the Mumbai Police a day after the Bombay High Court directed Maharashtra government to clear the city by today afternoon and said normal life of Mumbaikars should not be affected. The court said that an opportunity had been given to Jarange Patil and others to clean up the city and vacate the roads by noon.
"We hope and trust that good counsel will prevail on Jarange and others and they will obey the orders,” the bench argued. The matter will continue to hear today.
The PILs, filed at the high court, said lakhs of agitators had brought Mumbai to a standstill, violating citizens' rights to free movement and livelihood. The protest, which entered its fourth day on Monday, saw 35,000–45,000 people arrive in 650 vehicles.
Advocate General Birendra Saraf said that the police permission for the protest was only for one day, with 5,000 limitation and asked to vacated site by 6 pm. He told the bench that there has been violation of the rules and the order of the Court.