Archive · 21 Sep 2026
Pune Influencer Allegedly Humiliated Over Raj Thackeray Reel
Influencer Mahesh Mote made a reel that MNS workers said used insulting language about Raj Thackeray.
The reel was reportedly posted about 15 days before the incident.
MNS workers allegedly found Mote in a park in Katraj after he returned to Pune from Kerala.
They reportedly took him to an MNS office.
Videos showed black ink on his face and showed him doing sit-ups and bowing before a picture of Raj Thackeray.
He also recorded an apology while crying.
MNS leader Shubham Jagdale defended the action and called it the party’s “MNS style.”
Reports said Mote did not file a formal police complaint.
The incident raised questions about people using force instead of the law to settle disagreements.
MNS workers allegedly apprehended influencer Mahesh Mote in Katraj, Pune, over a reel they said mocked Raj Thackeray.
Mote was reportedly taken to an MNS public relations office after returning from Kerala.
Videos showed black ink on Mote’s face, along with alleged sit-ups, self-slapping, and prostration before Thackeray’s photograph.
Mote recorded a tearful, unconditional apology to Raj Thackeray, MNS workers, and party office-bearers while asking not to be harassed further.
MNS leader Shubham Jagdale called the retaliation “MNS style” and “Mahaprasad”; reports said no formal police complaint had been filed.
- Who
- Influencer Mahesh Mote, MNS workers, MNS leader Shubham Jagdale, and MNS chief Raj Thackeray.
- What
- Mote was allegedly apprehended, humiliated, and made to record an apology over a reel that MNS workers said insulted Raj Thackeray.
- When
- The reel was reportedly posted about 15 days earlier; Mote had reportedly been in Kerala for 15–20 days before returning to Pune.
- Where
- Mote was allegedly apprehended at a park in Katraj, Pune, and taken to an MNS public relations office.
- Why
- MNS workers alleged that Mote used abusive or inappropriate language about Raj Thackeray, Shubham Jagdale, and other MNS office-bearers.
Alleged Coercion and Vigilantism
MNS Justification
Treatment of Mote
Alleged Coercion and Vigilantism
The reported use of force, humiliation, black ink, sit-ups, prostration, and a tearful apology was described as an episode raising concerns about vigilante mob justice and local law and order.
MNS Justification
Shubham Jagdale described the actions as an MNS-style “fitting reply” or “Mahaprasad” for remarks against Raj Thackeray.
Reason for the confrontation
Alleged Coercion and Vigilantism
Mote’s apology video showed him saying he had made a mistake and asking not to be harassed further; the reports do not establish that he consented to the treatment.
MNS Justification
MNS workers alleged that his reel contained extremely abusive or derogatory language about Raj Thackeray and inappropriate remarks about MNS office-bearers, and Jagdale warned that similar remarks would receive the same response.
- Influencer
- Mahesh Mote
- Political party
- Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS)
- Party chief
- Raj Thackeray
- Reported location
- Katraj, Pune
- Alleged acts
- Black ink on the face, sit-ups with slippers on the head, self-slapping, prostration, and a recorded apology
- MNS leader cited
- Shubham Jagdale, MNS sub-divisional president for the Hadapsar Assembly constituency
- Police status
- Reports said no formal complaint had been filed; Mote reportedly declined to file one
