Dead Man Stalking

THE Shiv Sena continues to be haunted by a dead man as fresh charges of extortion resulted in the interrogation of party chief Bal Thackeray's nephew. Raj Thackeray was questioned in connection with a case where his friend Suman Shah was allegedly involved in a property dispute with Ramesh Kini, whose body was found in a Pune theatre. The arrest of Shah, his father Laxmichand, and Ashut-osh Rane, general secretary of the Bharat-iya Vidyarthi Sena headed by Raj Thackeray has dented the image of the ruling Sena-BJP combine.

Parallel to the Kini case involving Raj is the case of Anita Juneja, involving Bal Thackeray's son Jaidev. Juneja claimed that Jai-dev was involved in trying to evict her from her rented apartment in Versova, Bombay. Juneja's suicide attempt and the short disappearance of her husband, created panic about another Kini case in the making.

The arrests have eroded the credibility of the Sena in a constituency it nurtured for 30 years—the middle-class Maharashtrian. From the case of a builder, Krishna Chamankar, who alleged he had been threatened in a property dispute by people using Jaid-ev's name, to a case where shopkeepers of middle-class Prabhadevi accused Raj and his cousin Jitu of trying to evict them, the 'victims' have been largely Maharashtrian. Says a BJP leader: "The people gave us a mandate with affection. The Sena is squandering it with extortion, and now murder."

For the Sena's coalition partner, the example of Sharad Pawar is too fresh to forget. Pawar and the Congress lost the last elections, and a state that traditionally stood by the party. "We could convince the people that Sharad Pawar had links with Dawood Ibrahim, and had built up people like Pappu Kalani and Hitendra Thakur. Once people get convinced, it is very difficult to change their minds. We have to be careful," says BJP legislator Prakash Javadekar, voicing the worry that has taken over his party's 'wait and watch' posture. The civic elections early next year poses a long term cause for worry.

To the Congress, the allegations have provided a path to recover lost ground by championing the victims, notably Ramesh Kini's widow Sheila. The Opposition disrupted the legislature, tore official papers, waved banners and staged gheraos—one that even forced a minister to climb into the Vidhan Bhavan through a window—demanding a CBI enquiry. "When the son sees the father doing wrong, he follows. Here it has moved from father to son; and from the chief to the lowest rung of the party," says Chhagan Bhujbal, formerly in the Shiv Sena and now Opposition leader in the legislative council. Bhujbal has been trying to nail the Thackerays by stating that attempts had been made to cover up Kini's murder. Extracts from Kini's diary are quoted—"He (Suman) started pressuring me using the name of Raj Thackeray his 'good friend'...I was regularly called to Saamna office".

Bhujbal's moves have earned the ire of the Thackerays. Raj Thackeray has threatened to file a Rs 10-crore defamation suit against Bhujbal and Sheila Kini, and alleges that he is the victim of a Bhujbal-Pawar plot. Just before his three-hour police interrogation, Raj Thackeray said he would not seek anticipatory bail. "I want a complete investigation. That will show I am innocent. It has become a fashion to drag Raj Thackeray into everything. I now keep a diary of those who come to see me." He suggested that the rash of accusations of extortion and harassment were motivated by politics.

Earlier, the BJP at a private meeting—BJP Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde holds the home portfolio—had decided to initiate a CID inquiry. Party sources say there is also a move to arrest a few people under the National Security Act and acquire the image of an impartial government. But the task is easier said than done as allegations are popping up with amazing regularity. 

Many in the ruling alliance feel the developments may put an end to a regime of extortion and nefarious activities that began with the Thackerays. "This is a warning to Bal Thackeray and his boys. People will not tolerate such activities," a minister said. A statement that focuses on a theory that the disclosures are being brought out with the aid of a government attempting to break away from the Thackeray stranglehold.