Mumbai: Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) has directed Thane police to submit a report on action taken on calls made by residents to helpline number ‘Dial 112’ during the Oct 27 protest against the alleged poor investigation into the Sept murder of Shiv Sena (UBT) functionary Pradeep Purnekar that blocked Thane’s Ghodbunder Road for over six hours. It has also asked police to check if permission was obtained for the protest, and explain if any FIR was registered based on the complaints from residents.Thane residents, who moved MSHRC, alleged that the morcha violated their fundamental rights, including the right to sleep, health, dignity, free movement, access to emergency services and a peaceful environment.MSHRC chairperson Justice A M Badar, while issuing interim recommendations on complaints filed by Thane residents Abid Ali Yaseen Choudhary, Bhupesh Patel and Shivshankar More, said, “The complainants have made out a prima facie case for issuing recommendations to the govt authorities concerned for immediate interim relief to residents of Thane city.”The directive added, “The commission is of the view that the allegations raise a serious issue of continuing violations of the rights of residents and of failure by the authorities concerned to act on the matter of protection of human rights of residents of Thane.”Late on Oct 27, thousands of people gathered on Ghodbunder Road to protest against the alleged poor probe into Purnekar’s murder case. The sudden gathering triggered massive traffic congestion, leaving commuters returning home stranded for hours and forcing many to walk several kilometres to reach home. The complainants have urged that there was unprecedented chaos in the Louis Wadi area as well as on Ghodbunder Road due to the “illegal political agitation”. They claimed that blocking the arterial road network of Thane caused a cascading effect on the entire Thane city, making the lives of residents “pitiable”.MSHRC said police shall ensure that a call to ‘Dial 112’ and a written complaint regarding the issue are promptly attended to and the complainant is informed in writing about action taken on their complaints. The local senior police inspector should ensure that the complainant is not harassed or intimidated.MSHRC asked Thane traffic police to, within two days, prepare and implement a traffic management and diversion plan for the stretch, which includes deployment of traffic personnel during any gathering.
