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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Raj Thackeray tormented over ‘missing kids’ in state

Mumbai : Expressing grave concerns over the steep rise in cases of ‘missing children’ in the state, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray has accused the state government of treating the matter casually and failing to respond to it urgently.   In an open missive on 'X' to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Raj Thackeray quoted data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) pointing at almost an alarming 30 pc increase in the number of children ‘missing’ in the state...

Raj Thackeray tormented over ‘missing kids’ in state

Mumbai : Expressing grave concerns over the steep rise in cases of ‘missing children’ in the state, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray has accused the state government of treating the matter casually and failing to respond to it urgently.   In an open missive on 'X' to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Raj Thackeray quoted data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) pointing at almost an alarming 30 pc increase in the number of children ‘missing’ in the state between 2021-2024.   When asked for his reactions, Fadnavis told media-persons in Nagpur that he had not read the letter, but the issue raised is important and he would reply to it. Fadnavis stated that the NCRB has also provided the reasons why the kids go ‘missing’, how they return and the period, ranging from 3 days to 18 months.   Dwelling on the sufficiency of the NCRB figures, he contended that they reflect only complaints formally registered by the police and thousands of cases may never be reported.   On the ‘rescue, return and reunion’ of such missing children, he pointed to the sheer psychological trauma they may have suffered and sought to know how such child-lifter networks continued to thrive openly and blatantly.   The MNS chief targeted what he claimed was the “state’s lack of proactive measures to identify and dismantle child-begging rackets” as many juveniles can be seen begging at railway stations, bus stands, traffic signals, often accompanied by adults with doubtful authenticity.   “If some woman claims to be the child’s relative or guardian, should the government not order a thorough probe? Is it inappropriate to consider even a DNA test in suspicious cases,” Raj Thackeray demanded.   Slamming the government and the Opposition, he lamented how both sides failed to prioritise such urgent social issues in the legislature where discussions centre around partisan sparring.   The letter also mentions attempts by the Centre to coordinate with states on the ‘missing or trafficked children’, regretting how political upmanships and symbolic debates prevent meaningful action on the ground.   The NCRB said that Maharashtra has consistently ranked among states with the highest number of ‘missing children’, particularly in urban centres like Mumbai, Thane, and Pune.   Simultaneously, experts, child rights NGOs and activists have warned about trafficking networks that exploit poverty, migration and weak law enforcement and low convictions, despite official rescue missions or rehab efforts.   In his appeal, Raj Thackeray called upon Fadnavis to take concrete, visible measures rather than discussions and conventions. “Maharashtra expects decisive steps from you, not speeches. Jai Maharashtra,” he signed off.     In October 2023,Sharad Pawar red-flagged ‘missing girls-women’ This is the second major social cause by a political leader, two years after Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar had red-flagged nearly 20,000 ‘missing women and girls’ from the state between Jan-May 2023.   In the present instance, Raj Thackeray said that “behind the statistics lies a far more disturbing reality involving organised, inter-state gangs that kidnap children, physically abuse them and force them into begging rings”.   “Little kids are assaulted, made to beg and shifted across states. Groups of children disappear suddenly, and the government appears unable, or unwilling, to grasp the seriousness of what is happening,” said Thackeray in a strong tone.

Bahubalis at loggerheads

Updated: Oct 30, 2024

Ahilyanagar

Mumbai: Two arch rivals in Maharashtra politics have stood before each other to prove their supremacy. A slugfest between Congress’s Balasaheb Thorat and BJP’s Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil has directly entered the arena at Ahilyanagar (formerly Ahmednagar). As the selection of candidates is still underway in many constituencies, the fracas between Thorat and Vikhe-Patil has intensified the campaigning.

Political tensions erupted in Sangamner after BJP local leader Vasant Deshmukh made controversial remarks about Jayashree Thorat, daughter of Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, during a rally attended by former BJP MP Sujay Vikhe-Patil.


The incident sparked violence in Sangamner and the surrounding area where an angry mob attacked vehicles belonging to Mahayuti leaders. Congress workers staged a sit-in protest outside the police station for seven hours until authorities registered a First Information Report (FIR) at approximately 5am. The protests even continued on Saturday morning, with demonstrators demanding Deshmukh’s arrest.


The Vikhe-Patil family pioneered the state’s strong cooperative movement. Vithalrao Vikhe- Patil, Radhakrishna’s grandfather, formed India’s first cooperative sugar factory. His son, Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil, was a Congress MP, who in his initial years joined a rebel Congress faction with former Congress CM Shankarrao Chavan. Radhakrishna, is Balasaheb’s son. Even he has switched between parties. Radhakrishna was elected as a Congress MLA when in 1997, he joined the Shiv Sena and was inducted as an agriculture minister in the Manohar Joshi-led Shiv Sena-BJP state government.


Later that year, Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil too switched to the Shiv Sena and was elected as an MP on a Shiv Sena ticket in 1998. He joined the National Democratic Alliance government first as a minister of state for finance and later as heavy industries minister. Both father and son after a while returned to the Congress party.


On the other hand, Vijay aka Balasaheb Thorat is Congress loyalist has won the assembly elections consequently eight times from Sangamner. His father Bhausaheb Thorat was also a member of legislative assembly. A political feud that has lasted three generations has shaken the foundations of the Congress and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in this district that’s the “sugar bowl” of Maharashtra. Though the tiff continued for long among Thorat and Vikhe-Patil, this was the first time the scuffle directly went on to the streets.

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