Originally from Rajasthan, Choudhary has been running the shop on rent for over a year and employs eight workers.A DAY after the video of a 48-year-old sweet shopowner in Mumbai’s Mira Road being assaulted allegedly by a group of men affiliated to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena for not speaking Marathi went viral, senior MNS leaders on Wednesday defended the action of the party workers. The police on Tuesday registered an FIR against seven persons on a complaint by the shopowner and issued notices to three of them.Meanwhile, Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam, while condemning the incident and urging people not to take the law into their hands, said, “The government will not tolerate disrespect towards Marathi language.”According to the FIR registered at the Kashimira police station in Mira-Bhayander on Tuesday, the incident occurred around 10:35 pm on June 29 at ‘Jodhpur Sweets and Namkeen’, a shop located in a busy area of Mira Road (East). The shopowner, Baboolal Khimaji Choudhary, a resident of Bhayander (East), stated in the FIR that seven unidentified men, aged between 20 and 30, entered his shop. Five of them were wearing scarves bearing the MNS name and symbol, he said.In his complaint, Choudhary stated, “They asked me my identity. When I told them I was the owner, they claimed a proposal had been passed in the Maharashtra Assembly requiring all businesses to hire Marathi-speaking staff and operate in Marathi. When I asked them when such a proposal was passed, they said ‘two days ago’ and then asked me which official language is spoken in Maharashtra. When I responded that all languages are spoken in the state, they became aggressive and started assaulting me.”Originally from Rajasthan, Choudhary has been running the shop on rent for over a year and employs eight workers. “My business runs from 7 am to 11 pm daily, and it supports my entire family. What happened that night was terrifying,” he added.The police have identified the three persons seen hitting the shopowner in the viral video as Karan Kandangire (31), a resident of Mira Bhayander and MNS’s deputy city chief; Pramod Nilekat, party’s Vaahtuk Sena district organiser; and Akshay Dalvi, an MNS worker from Dahisar in Mumbai.Police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) pertaining to assault, criminal intimidation, intentional insult, and promoting enmity based on language. “We have registered an FIR and issued notices to the three accused,” said Rajendra Kamble, senior police inspector of Kashimira police station. The accused remain at large.Story continues below this adWhen contacted, Kandangire said, “We will not tolerate insult to Marathi. File FIRs or charge us with false sections, we are not afraid.”MNS leaders defended the action of the party workers. “Our people were celebrating after the GR on the three-language policy was withdrawn by the government, when some of our workers went to the shop to purchase water bottles. The shopowner insulted Marathi that led to an argument,” MNS leader and party spokesperson Sandip Deshpande said.Sandeep Rane, Mira Bhayander city chief of MNS, said, “Our party workers were celebrating the withdrawal of the GR. The shopkeeper started asking why were we celebrating and insulted Marathi language and people.”Kadam condemned the incident. “For the past several months, there’s been a controversy around Hindi and Marathi. Some are using this issue ahead of the municipal elections. I urge everyone not to take the law into their hands. Marathi should be respected, but any grievance should be reported to the police,” Kadam said.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd