Murder case filed against Raj Thackeray in Bihar

Patna, Oct 24 (IANS) Raj Thackeray may now face a murder charge after the father of Pawan Kumar, the youth who was allegedly killed by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activists in Mumbai, filed a case against the party chief in a Bihar court Friday.

Pawan's father Jagdish Prasad filed a murder case against Thackeray under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the court of chief judicial magistrate in Biharsharif, the district headquarters of Nalanda, about 100 km from here, court sources said.

Prasad has accused Thackeray and MNS activists of killing his son in Mumbai last Sunday.

Prasad has requested the court to charge Thackeray with the murder of his son.

Pawan, a resident of Bara-Khurd village in Nalanda, was one of the hundreds of students from Bihar appearing for a railway recruitment exam in Maharashtra Sunday when MNS activists attacked them.

The son of a poor farmer, Pawan had hoped to improve his family's standard of living by getting a government job. However, his dead body was brought back to Bihar Tuesday to be cremated at his village.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced a compensation of Rs.150,000 to Pawan's family.