FIR against Raj Thackeray, news channel for poll code violation

MUMBAI: An FIR has been registered against the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and a leading Marathi news channel for allegedly violating model code of conduct ahead the civic polls, police said today.

According to police, the FIR was registered last night after a news channel aired an interview of Raj Thackeray last evening.

"An FIR was registered against Raj Thackeray and a news channel under IPC section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) as they violated the code of conduct. The complaint was filed by a BMC officer," DCP Kishore Jadhav said.

Even though the model code of conduct states that the poll campaign should conclude 48 hours before the polling, the channel had aired an interview of the politician, which has been termed as part of the campaign by the BMC officer, senior inspector S Ghangare of N M Joshi Marg police station said.

Ten civic bodies in Maharashtra, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), are going to polls tomorrow.