Close shave for Thackeray with rogue rocket

MUMBAI, April 30: It was yet another speech by Bal Thackeray and, as usual, it was full of fireworks, but this time in more ways than one. Part of a rocket, among a number of crackers being burst, landed uncomfortably close to the fiery Shiv Sena chief and burnt a portion of the carpet on the dias. The occasion was the shifting of the Bhavani Co-operative Bank’s Dadar branch on April 29 to Limaye House, Baburao Parulekar Marg, Dadar (West).

The bank officials arranged a public function at the new place and invited Chief Minister Manohar Joshi, other senior Sena leaders and corporators. It started at around 7.45 p.m., after Thackeray arrived, about 45 minutes late. No sooner did he step onto the small dias than enthused Shiv Sainiks started bursting crackers. One of the fancy rockets which go high in the air and burst out in different colours exploded before it reached it usual height. As a result, one of its burning parts emitting coloured flames landed right in front of Thackeray. The carpet immediately caught fire.

Instantly the police and commandos from the Sena chief’s security leapt forward to extinguish the flames. “It was very dangerous. My heart skipped a few beats. Had the piece landed any nearer to him, he would have been injured, ” said a senior police officer. But he was very upset that the Sainiks went on bursting crackers despite repeated warnings. He said no one bothered to heed his requests not to light them after Thackeray arrived.