Pune:

When pilots of the flight carrying ex-Maharashtra minister Tanaji Sawant’s son and his two friends to Bangkok were asked to return to Pune, they thought it to be a “hoax” message, but complied after verification from aviation authorities, an airline executive said on Wednesday.

The chartered flight, operated by a private firm, carrying Rishiraj Sawant (32) and his two friends returned to the Pune airport between 8 pm and 8.30 pm on Monday, abruptly cutting short a trip to the Thailand capital which was not disclosed to the Shiv Sena leader and his family.

The decision to divert the airborne plane to Pune was made only after due verification, insisted the executive of the company operating the airline.

In a dramatic turn of events, Rishiraj Sawant and his two friends, heading to Bangkok on what they later claimed was a “business trip”, were hurriedly brought back to Pune after police registered a kidnapping case following an anonymous call and intervention of his father Tanaji Sawant.

“When we received the first call (from family members) asking us to turnaround the flight, we did not believe it. We cannot believe these kinds of calls as they could be hoax. But after due verification from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and DGCA and knowing it pertained to a kidnapping case being probed by police, the decision to turnaround the flight was taken and it returned to Pune,” said the executive from the airline operator.

He said civil aviation regulator DGCA appreciated his company for the decision to recall the flight mid-way.

The executive maintained it was perhaps the first-of-its-kind instance in which a flight was recalled mid-way citing registration of a criminal case against a passenger.

“Such things happen only in case of some sort of emergency such as medical or technical emergency,” he said.

When the flight was asked to return to the Pune airport it was flying over Port Blair (Sri Vijaya Puram) in the UT of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the trio was not informed about the diversion to avoid ruckus or arguments with the pilots and crew members, explained the executive.

“The screen in front of the passengers showing maps and navigation were already switched off, and they had no inkling their plane was returning to Pune without their knowledge. They were relaxing after having food.

“After touching down at the Pune International Airport, the passenger (Rushiraj) and the two others were surprised and angrily questioned the pilots. The pilot-in-command told them they were just following instructions,” he said.

“Once the flight touched down at the Pune airport, CISF personnel quickly went inside and escorted them out of the plane,” according to the executive.

The flight operator received a few calls from the DGCA and provided all necessary information, he said, adding “We explained everything to them and presented the SOPs that were followed.” It all began after the Pune police received an anonymous call at around 4 pm that Rishiraj Sawant was taken away by some unidentified persons on Monday.

Police swiftly registered a kidnapping case as panicked Tanaji Sawant rushed to the police commissioner’s office for help.

Investigations revealed Rishiraj Sawant, along with his two friends, had booked a chartered plane for Bangkok without informing his family, according to the police.

Rishiraj Sawant later told the police he kept his “business trip” to the Thailand capital secret to avoid his family’s wrath.

Meanwhile, local leaders of the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) approached the Sinhgad Road police station, where the kidnapping offence was registered, and alleged former minister Tanaji Sawant misused the police machinery to bring his son back.

They questioned the police’s urgency in filing a kidnapping case after receiving a call from an anonymous person.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray
| Photo Credit: PTI

Shiv Sena (UBT) faction led by Uddhav Thackeray and Shiv Sena-led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will hold separate Dussehra rallies in the state on Saturday (October 12, 2024), aiming to show their strength just before the assembly polls in the State.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) rally will be held at Shivaji Park while the Ekanth Shinde faction’s rally will be held at Azad Maidan. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, “It has been a tradition for more than 50 years – only 2 Dussehra rallies are famous – Shiv Sena’s Dussehra rally which was started by Balasaheb Thackery and the other one is of RSS’ Dussehra rally in Nagpur. Now, the duplicate Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, the Sena of Modi and Shah is also organising the Dussehra rally in the name of Shiv Sena, many other organisations also do rallies but the importance of the rally that is organised in Shivaji Park has always been more in the country and State.

“”Today, our rally will be held. After Balasaheb Thackeray, Uddhav Thackeray is leading the party and he will address the rally. Bow and arrow has always been our symbol, but Modi-Shah through theft gave it to dishonest and duplicate people, but it doesn’t change anything. Bow and arrow will always be in our hearts but our symbol is Mashal [flame] now. This Mashal induces fire but also gives light,” Mr. Raut added.

Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey termed Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction as a “duplicate” and said that Uddhav Thackeray has worked for the honour of Maharashtra while others have backstabbed and have been the servitors of Delhi. Mr. Dubey said, “Today, two [Dussehra] rallies are taking place in Mumbai – one, of the real Shiv Sena and the other, of the duplicate Shiv Sena. The real Shiv Sena is taking place at Shivtirth, like every year. Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray can’t be compared to any other Shiv Sainik or any other duplicate Shiv Sainik. Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray has worked for the honour and character of Maharashtra. Others have backstabbed Maharashtra and have been the servitors of Delhi.””In a month or two, the duplicate Shiv Sena will not be seen anywhere. There will be just one Shiv Sena,” Mr. Dubey added.

Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) faction leader Sanjay Nirupam targeted Uddhav Thackeray and said that he has sidelined Hindutva after allying with Congress.”Shiv Sena rally has a historical context. When Balasaheb used to address the Dussehra rally, he used to give his views on Hindutva to the Shiv Sainiks. There were strong comments, especially on the Congress’s policy of appeasement and the communal approach they followed in the name of secularism. Today Uddhav Thackeray has formed an alliance with Congress and has sidelined Hindutva. So he will not be able to speak much on Hindutva in his rally because it will disturb his Muslim votes,” he said.

“In the true sense, the thoughts of Balasaheb Thackeray will be expressed in Azad Maidan which will be addressed by Eknath Shinde. Along with that, there will be his sharp comments on the bad things that Congress has spread in the country,” Mr. Nirupam added.

Another Shiv Sena leader Manisha Kayande said, “Lakhs of people will come. The rally will be held at Azad Maidan. To hear the ideas of Balasaheb Thackeray, Shiv Sainiks used to come here from across the country…Shiv Sena had deviated from its path and Eknath Shinde is bringing it back to its path. All his supporters, Hindutva supporters will be there in large numbers.”Uddhav Thackeray on October 8 slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party, accusing it of attempting to change the constitution and creating “a fight in the whole country”.

“The government sitting in Delhi was going to change the constitution but they could not do so. The results that have come in Haryana and Kashmir today, the people of every state take their own decisions.There was never a fight between Gujarati and Marathi.The two thugs sitting in Delhi have created a fight in the whole country,” Thackeray said.Referring to the recent Lok Sabha election results, Mr. Thackeray said, “We are proud that Maharashtra has brought them to their knees in the Lok Sabha.

“He further asserted that Shiv Sena still stand with Hindutva but not with BJP.”My grandfather fought against the wrong Hindutvaists of that time, Babasaheb also said this. I left BJP, but that does not mean that we have left Hindutva,” he said.The 288 seats Maharashtra Assembly will go to polls later this year. The Election Commission of India has yet to announce the poll dates. The upcoming Maharashtra election will see a contest between the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress, and the Maha Yuti Alliance, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction).

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the Maharashtra Speaker’s ruling on the Sena vs Sena dispute – in which the faction led by Eknath Shinde was declared the “real Sena” based on its “discernible legislative majority” – and asked if the conclusion was contrary to its instructions.

A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud made the oral observation as it heard pleas from the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction (or what was the united Shiv Sena) challenging Speaker Rahul Narwekar’s decision to not disqualify the MLAs – including Mr Shinde – who had switched to the BJP.

The court ordered the Speaker’s office to submit all original records pertaining to disqualification pleas filed by Mr Thackeray’s camp, and asked Mr Shinde’s camp to file a reply by April 1.

The summoning of records was in response to forgery allegations by the Shinde faction.

The next hearing will be in the second week of the same month, the court said, adding, it will also hear then objections by the Shinde side – that this matter is worthy of being heard by the top court.

The court also said it was keeping open the issue of maintainability of the petition.

READ | Thackeray Approaches Court Over Speaker’s “Real Shiv Sena” Decision

On January 10, Rahul Narwekar ruled in favour of the Shinde faction, calling it the “real Shiv Sena” and holding, therefore, that disqualification of its MLAs could not be sought by the Thackeray faction.

READ | Eknath Shinde Faction Is “Real Sena”, Says Speaker

He said he was relying on the legislative strength of the Shinde camp; his final ruling noted it had a strength of 37 of 55 seats (won by the then united Sena in the 2019 Assembly election).

However, in May last year, the Supreme Court had said the Speaker should not base his decision on “a blind appreciation of which group possess a majority in the Legislative Assembly”. The Constitution Bench of the court said a decision on the “real Sena” was more than numbers.

An incensed Mr Thackeray had called Mr Narwekar’s decision an “insult to the Supreme Court and (a) murder of democracy”. The former Chief Minister said the Speaker made a “thief” – a jab at to Eknath Shinde – “master of the House”, and had exceeded the brief given to him by the court.

READ | “Why Were We Not Disqualified,” Thackeray Questions Speaker

“The court had given a framework but he distorted it into something else… he thinks he is above the Supreme Court. He should have made laws against party-hopping stricter but was busy clearing a path for himself,” he said, pointing out also Mr Narwekar had “changed parties many times”.

After splitting in June 2022, the factions served a clutch of disqualification notices against each other. The Thackeray faction sought the removal of as many as 40 Shinde camp MLAs, which, in turn, wanted 14 of its rivals disqualified. The Speaker, though, had dismissed all these petitions.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.