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One of the commuters said that the 23-year-old gunman identified as Rahul Raj, went on screaming subsequently that he had nothing against the passengers and only wanted to ‘take on’ Raj Thackeray.
"He (Raj) then made some passengers write in chits, and kept on dropping it from the bus stating that he had come to attack Raj Thackeray. The person also kept demanding for a mobile phone," the terrified passengers said adding that the gunman was later shot dead by the police.
Recounting the terror, another passenger, Abdul Rashid Sheikh, said, "I was sitting on the upper deck of the bus when I heard some screams... I saw this man (Raj) trying to strangle the conductor with some kind of a chain and then he let him go... After that he shot one of the passengers for no reason."
"All of us ducked down under the seat and we were very scared since we didn't know if the police was to start firing," Sheikh, an employee with a local bank and a resident of suburban Andheri, who was travelling with his wife Rafia, said.
"There were nearly 15 passengers on the upper deck of the bus. He first tried to take my wife out but then apologised to her, seeing she was woman, and said that he (Raj) would escort her out of the bus," Sheikh said.
"I refused to let her (Rafia) go since I was scared that she could be hit in any crossfire that might take place," the bank employee, who was taking his wife to visit a doctor, said.
"We then heard some sounds of shooting and later heard that he (Raj) was dead," Sheikh added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police Milind Bharambe said that the gunman repeatedly asked to speak with the City Police Commissioner and also wanted to kill Raj Thackeray.
"We found two (currency) notes, a fifty rupee and a ten rupee, on which it was written, "I only want to kill Raj Thackeray and no one else," Bharambe said.
The currency notes were recovered from near the bus when the hostage drama was unfolding.


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RAJ SHOULD BE PUBLICLY HANGED TILL DEATH FOR ALL THE CASES WHICH ARE PENDING AGAINST HIM THEN ONLY THERE WILL BE PEACE IN MAHARASHTRA AND IN INDIA. HIS UNCLE THE IDIOTIC BAL TKRY DID THE SAME THING WITH SOUTH INDIANS SOME 40 YRS BACK. JUST WANT TO CREATE A GROUND FOR HIS PARTY(GOONDA).I WILL AND ALSO OTHER PEOPLE LIKE ME WOULD BE HAPPY TO SEE ALL THE CORPORATE PEOPLE SHLD TAKE OUT THEIR INDUSTRIES AND CO'S OUT OF MUMBAI AND RELOCATE OUT OF MUMBAI,THEN ONLY THESE GOONS LIKE TKRY'S WILL COME TO KNOW WHAT MUMBAI IS WITHOUT THEM,MUMBAI WILL BE NOT WORTH A PAISE.
Esteemed Sir It is first LP Yadab, who started the mess. The Bihari people considered the idian railway as their exclusive domain to corner all the facilities including the group D jobs through out india at the expense of other indians. Secondly the Bihari people took the guns in his hands to hold hostage the innocent passengers in a best bus to spread panic among them. The bihari leaders can not impose their sweet will in a surcharged atomosphere
if raj thackery has been misquoted by the media, why not correct his stand. he issues statements that are nothing but rabble rousing.his primary intention IS rabble rousing, cos, he wants to create as much hype for himself, and win the coming elections. this natak wont continue forever. and congress is helping him openly.
If the Biharis insist on their right to settle anywhere in India inspite of the states being organised on a linguistic basis,then their third rate states of origin like BIhar and UP must be forced to cede territory to Maharashtra as per the concept of 'Lebensraum'.If their own govts whom they have elected have failed to provide them safety and means of livelihood then far from blaming their own leaders they are blaming other states who consider them a burden.Speaks volumes of their mental capacity and gives a clue as to why their God forsaken states are in a shambles.Imagine madcap youths threatening bus passengers with a revolver and being called innocent!Perhaps by Bihar standards,not civilised ones.If you want to come over to M'tra and other states then cede territory in proportion to the population that has migrated to that particular state.Period.
Why dont we recognize an individual and why do we have to always group people?By religion, by gender, by country, by caste, by state..... What not. I wont be surprised someday to see people demanding reservations for being born in Febraury
Thank God, I am not living in India. Even as an indian u cant really work anywhere or move freely.. north discriminate against south and south does against north. and ofcourse religion discrimination is there as well. what a pity... so much for great unity in diversity .. its just sham bogus slogan...even if there is issue in north with development, i always felt it needed to be resolved politically...not with violence.. may be that idiot thackray can help north indians on how to develop their region or show how whole of india can be developed by taking up constructive and engaging politics. but that will be asking too much from an uneducated narrow minded goonda. atleast the educated from india should rise up and be more constructive. but i dont see that as well... even the racism in west is far lesser... india full of stupids.. regardless of education.. so narrow...
O God! to where Gandhiji's country is heading to? People are gone mad with communal hatred and parochial interests. Love one another. Live and let live.
Rahul Raj's act was very bad but is the mumbai police so ill trained that instead of overpowering him they shot him dead in public, are the mumbai policemen so poor to handle a single guy
How sad, an innocent, insecure, sensitive Nationalistic person is lost. With Rs 60 in pocket, with utmost respect to woman and 23 years on his side, what could the person do? Who do we blame here? It would be Amar Singh, Lalu Yadav, Mulayam Yadav and the Bihari dominated Media. All the above created hype for their respective TRP. Mumbai Police , in a way did the right thing but its sad to see him die. Does he deserve this? No. but the passions will rise by the hour, by the day. What can be done? Bring Lalu Yadav to Justice. Make sure Amar Singh is made responsible.
Is it not ironic that one terrorist Sadhavi is in jail,second terrorist is protected by police and ministers in Maharastra--Thackarey, third terrorist is shot by the same police because of second terrorist after all is there any sanity ?
I think the outcome of judicial probe will be....1. If probe blames Raj - Great probe. Honourable judge. See what we told you about all parties that followed Saffron agenda2. If Raj is exonerated - The judge took money from Raj3. If probe mentions that the youth was a member of a political party of Bihar that tried to milk the situation to get attention - The judge sold out to fascist forces. Call for another probe until some judge finds him guiltyUltimately, we will end up believing what the politicians want us to believe coz being Indians, we think with our hearts and not our minds
The day has finally arrived! More than 70 years ago people gave their lives for a nation to live together, and a democratic India was born. Jinnah split us then, using Islam. Today Thackeray is using a concept os statehood, and trying to cause unrest again! As if we don't have enough problems with our neighburs, poverty, naxalites and various seperatists; we are now creating more!!! I don't know who to feel sorry for, the lame Thackery, or even lamer public that support him. Gro up you guys. If you are good enough, you will get a job anywhere. I cleaned toilets before I became a doctor (not through reservations or donations, purely on merit); I didn't work against anyone!! You can succeed if you work hard, doesn't matter if you are bihari or a marathi. Stop listening to selfish politicians and make something of yourself. Jai Hind. KK
I pity those those who cannot do the jobs themselves nor will they allow others to do them.They only know how to bark and sometimes how to bite . Are we a false Nation?
I dont know what is happening but can just say that please dont divide this country on the basis of language or states now . Please think about the nation and not just for maharashtra . No one is trying to do any thing wrong everyoe is just talking about their own perceptions . I dont know what rahul did was right or wrong but what supporters of Raj Thakre is doing is definitely not fair.People should not be treated like this even if they belong to Bihar as they still are humans and deserve better living that is why they come to your maharashtra. " Atithi devo bhava ". Guests are treated like god in india than how can we treat our very own people like this. A request to mahrashtrians plz help them for earnng a better livelihood fo their people in UP or Bihar and together we can hope soon bhar and UP will be developed enough so that they can bring pride to the Nation. JAI HIND " VNDE MATRAM "
If you ever wanted to know how terrorists are created you will know it now. You will know how injustice from people you look upto to provide justice, hatred and insenstive system creates a terrorist out of normal educated youth. If this does not open your eyes, nothing will, this nation will always be at ransom in the hands of corrupt politicians, officials and policemen, media and even us, the common man.Today, a young professional from Patna, named Rahul Raj, entered in a BEST bus in Mumbai and took the conductor of the bus hostage. For atleast half an hour, he kept shouting slogans against Raj thakre telling by standers he wants to talk to the commissioner of Mumbai. He kept asking people to call up commissioner of police and media because he wanted to talk to them.About half and later local police arrived and surrounded the bus. It was clear to the police that Rahul Raj the youth who had held hostage has not hurt anyone yet, though he had fired a round in air
sirthis violence against christians is mainly because 1.the perpetrators are insecure or why else are they targeting harmless people who only pray instead of retaliating.2. they are doing this because they are scared to touch the muslims who will set india on fire.3. this is a ruse ro incite the majority hindus for a pan hindu feeling just before elections. its the most inexpensive way of getting votes, now that all other issues are over.4. why are the hindu conversions of whites and other foriegners not highlighted? there are so many whites who follow so many swamis .why no one is bothered?5. even the great hindu leaders are all alumnis of christian schools and collleges why they were not converted?6. these uprisings are triggered only by highcastes in places where they are not natives6. it is an indian's right to choose his religion.
If you kill innocent people and don't give him equal opportunity then why integrated INDIA.Liberate Kashmir and other states who want to separate.Inequality is placing on society as some areas enjoy an economic boom and others are left behind.If this will happen,You will see CIVIL WAR in near future. So, prepare for that.
The police probably were right in protecting the people first .I hope they do the same when they see MNS goondas hurting people next time. Shoot them too to protect the innocent.
I admire the work done by Mumbai police. Such nut-cases must be shot down. There is no innocence behind it. Carrying guns and strangling passengers may be common in Bihar, but it should not be in Maharashtra. I am sympathetic for the cause of Raj Thakrey. UP/Bihar are socially
i think if here they involve politics then thr cant be a worse political country than india...i think even a retard person can make out tht lalu,nitish k n paswan jus want to make some votes out of this...if they really wanted to do something for people they should hav came together for fighting against cooruption in bihar...but alast they were themselves indulged in it.losers.questioning the mumbai police who are counted second in world jus after scotland yards n tht too by these greedy ministers is plain shame for country.its high time tht these ministers themselves should be declared as DESH DROHI
We support MSN cause for greater role of Maharatis in Maharashtra. Mumbai the financial capital of India should stop all money being transferred states of India and also from any foreign source. Only Maharati money will be allowed.Mumbai also know for Bollywood should not allow production or screening of any Hindi movies.Maharashtra should stop exporting or import any agriculture products to or from other states of India. All education institutions in Maharashtra should allow only maharati candidates.All govt. and private firms should recruit only Maharati candidates.Jai Maharastra
This appears to be a deep rooted conspiracy of Maharashtra government and Marathis against north Indians. Marathis hates Hindi speaking people since decades and call them Bhaiyaa.
Businessmen and industrialists are not as dumb as our political leaders. You can ask yourself why Tata left West Bengal, why no large-scale investment is happening in Bihar and UP and why they are investing in states like Gujarat or Maharastra despite of having people like Narendra Modi and Raj Thakkery. Some politically motivated, huge investment by central govt (mainly by powerful UP, Bihar lobby politicians) is making no dent either in bringing social justice or economic prosperity of local people there in UP and Bihar. Quality of education and research in all the national institutes in UP Bihar are just pathetic. Govt industries are having worse corruption (even in Indian std) and as good as non-predictive and ruing on huge losses there. People are flocking to Mumbai or MH not for charity to Marathi people or MH, but for their own good. And Mumbai and MH have every right to allow some people but not each and everyone to their land to protect their own culture and economy.
Terrific job,Mumbai Police! Maharashtra has no place for insane idiots who run about in public transport buses brandishing revolvers!Imagine the tragedy if he had killed a few passengers.....in that case the public would have blamed the Mumbai police for inaction!Are all those opposing the shooting of the madman seriously condoning the actions of an armed youth and would they take responsibility for any deaths that would have occured?We do not want Maharashtra to become another Bihar.Period!
I wish the 'shahid' would have been more successful and killed the rabid dog Raj Thakrey before being killed. I hope his sacrifice is not wasted and the dog is neutered.