A video of members of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) thrashing a theatre hall manager over the high prices of food items being sold in the theatre, has gone viral.
A case against Kishor Shinde, a former corporator from Kothrud area, and other workers of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, was registered after the multiplex management filed a complaint at Chatushringi police station following the incident on Thursday, 28 June.
Admitting the incident to ANI, Shinde said: “Popcorn worth Rs 5 is being sold at Rs 250. The Bombay High Court has already said a reduction in price is needed. We told the manager to read news reports but he said doesn't know how to read Marathi. Then we dealt with him MNS style.”
In the video, the workers are seen abusing in Marathi and slapping the manager multiple times, as he attempts to reason with them.
On Wednesday, 27 June, the HC had asked the state why it could not regulate the prices of food items being sold at exorbitant rates in multiplexes across the state, reported PTI.
It added that in some cases, the prices of the food items were higher than those of the tickets. It also said:
We understand if the state can’t permit the public to carry food from home. But, then why can’t it step in and regulate the prices of food sold inside the cinema theatres.
Further, it justified its stance by saying that senior citizens and people suffering from medical conditions, such as diabetes, had to eat at regular intervals between the movie, and that they couldn’t always eat the food being sold at the multiplexes and movie theatres.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
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