Raj Thackeray Appears in Thane Court

Raj Thackeray returned to a Thane court on May 13 in a criminal case tied to violence during a 2008 railway recruitment examination protest, giving the matter a fresh burst of attention nearly 18 years after the incident. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief’s appearance came at the stage when the court recorded his statement on the prosecution’s evidence, a routine but important step in a long-running trial. The case stems from unrest during the All-India Railway Recruitment Board examination in October 2008, when MNS workers were accused of attacking candidates from outside Maharashtra and damaging railway property. Investigators have also alleged that speeches by Thackeray helped incite the violence. The allegations have shadowed him for years and remain one of the more politically sensitive legal cases linked to the party’s early agitation over jobs and regional identity. In court on Wednesday, Thackeray rejected the prosecution’s case. Reports from the hearing said he described the matter as false and denied being present at the scene of the alleged incident. One account said he told the court he was in Nashik, not Kalyan, when the violence took place. The court recorded his answers after putting to him the evidence gathered during the trial. The questioning covered testimony from 12 witnesses, according to reports on the proceedings. That detail matters because a statement at this stage is meant to give an accused person a chance to respond directly to the evidence that prosecutors say links him to the offenses. Thackeray denied the accusations after that process was completed. The charges are tied to a period when the MNS was mobilizing aggressively around the issue of employment for locals in Maharashtra. In 2008, candidates from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh who had traveled to sit for railway recruitment exams became targets of attacks in and around railway premises, prompting police cases and national political criticism. The Thane matter is one of the cases that continued through the courts long after the street violence itself faded from daily politics. December 11, 2025, marked an earlier key step in the same case, when Thackeray appeared in court and pleaded not guilty after charges were framed against him and several party workers. His lawyer at the time said he would attend proceedings whenever directed. That hearing set the stage for the current phase, in which the court has moved from framing charges to examining the accused on the prosecution record. Security was tightened around the Thane court complex during the latest appearance as party workers, media crews and police gathered outside. The scene reflected the case’s continuing political sensitivity in Maharashtra, where Thackeray remains a prominent opposition figure and where the 2008 anti-migrant violence still carries legal and symbolic weight. May 18 is the next date to watch. Final arguments are scheduled in Thane, where prosecutors and Thackeray’s lawyers are expected to return before the magistrate for the next stage of the trial.