MNS workers cornered Mahesh Mote in a Pune park, holding him in front of a Raj Thackeray portrait and demanding an apology, the party’s sub‑district president Shubham Jagdale said.
The confrontation, captured on camera, showed Mote forced to sit‑up with slippers on his head while black ink smeared his face – a display Jagdale called the party’s “Mahaprasad”.
Mote, who had been in Kerala for the past two weeks, later released a tear‑filled video on social media apologising for his remarks about Raj Thackeray and other MNS leaders, promising no further harassment.
Jagdale, in a post‑incident video, boasted that anyone who insults Raj Thackeray would “meet the same fate”, sparking outrage from online communities and human‑rights activists who label the act an intimidation tactic.
Pune police have opened a case against the MNS workers, and the state government is expected to announce a review of the incident next week.
The incident underscores the growing trend of political intimidation in Maharashtra, a concern that lawmakers are calling for stricter enforcement of freedom‑of‑speech laws.