Navi Mumbai police have filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Amit Thackeray, son of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, along with 70 MNS workers, including key office bearers. The charges stem from an incident on Sunday afternoon in Nerul, where the group allegedly defied police orders and forcibly unveiled a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The statue was housed within a canopy constructed by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) at a junction in sector-1, near the Rajiv Gandhi flyover.

According to Brahmanand Naikwadi, senior inspector of Nerul police station, the accused have been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the new criminal code, for a range of offenses. These include assault or criminal force against a public servant, voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant in the discharge of their duty, unlawful assembly, rioting, joint liability, and mischief causing loss or damage to property. Additionally, relevant sections of the Maharashtra Police Act have also been invoked.

Aside from Amit Thackeray, who heads the Maharashtra Vidyarthi Sena, those named in the FIR include Gajanan Kale, the MNS President of Navi Mumbai City, and Abhijit Desai, the MNS Nerul unit chief, along with other MNS workers.

Inspector Naikwadi stated that the MNS workers took out a procession without obtaining prior permission and formed an unlawful assembly. They are accused of assaulting Assistant Police Inspector Nilesh Chavan, who was on duty at the site, and obstructing government work by disregarding police instructions. The FIR also alleges that the MNS workers maliciously damaged the netting that NMMC had installed around the statue.

The incident unfolded when Amit Thackeray visited Nerul and reportedly became displeased to find the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj covered in cloth and coated with dust. The NMMC had apparently delayed the unveiling of the statue since February of the previous year. Upon learning of Amit Thackeray's intention to unofficially unveil the statue, the Nerul police deployed a team to prevent it. However, MNS workers accompanying Thackeray allegedly protested vehemently, defied the police, forcibly reached the canopy, and tore the cloth covering the statue. Following this, Thackeray himself washed the statue.

This is not the first time MNS workers have faced legal action. In July 2025, Mumbai police registered a case against 250-300 Sena (UBT) and MNS workers for protesting without permission and burning copies of a government circular mandating Hindi as a third language in primary education. In January 2024, 30 suspected MNS workers were booked for vandalizing the office of Mahesh Jadhav, a Mathadi leader from the party, after Jadhav alleged he was assaulted by Amit Thackeray.