MNS protests over student Vihaan’s death, slams government handling of Delhi NEET protest

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Wednesday (July 22, 2026) staged a protest, demanding Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to take accountability in the death of school student Vihaan Shrivastav, killed in Chembur tree-fall incident and slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) government in the State and at the Centre for its “violent" handling of the NEET protest in Delhi, which allegedly involved lathi charging. 

MNS leaders demanded the resignation of BMC Garden Department Superintendent Jitendra Pardeshi, called for the blacklisting of contractors, and urged that they be fined heftily.  

“Has human life become so cheap? From the Centre to State and local administrations, negligence is at its peak, yet accountability is non-existent in the system. A falling tree kills an innocent child, an open drain claims another life, yet the inquiry report states that no one is responsible. Who is taking accountability for the NEET paper leak and the 20 students who ended their lives?” said MNS senior leader Sandeep Deshpande. 

Furthermore, it was added, “Social media is abusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. If he is aware of this, he should resign. If he doesn’t, he is shameless. Young people criticize the government every day, yet Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan continues to sit in his position without shame.“ 

The protesters were seen raising slogans such as “Let’s question the system, Kartavya Kara Anyatha Khurchi Soda, Do work or leave the chair”, and “Nishkalji Adhikaryanchya Vilamb Kara (suspend negligent officers). Several protestors and party workers, including Mr. Deshpande, wore T-shirts printed with the slogan “Let’s question the system.”  

A protestor from Mumbai’s Chembur, Nilam Kamble, said, “Life has become fragile in today’s world because of the government. There is no sensitivity left. Does ₹7 lakh do the justice?“ 

Another protestor from Mahim in Central Mumbai, Shiram Nikalje, asked, “How can the BMC give a clean chit to themselves? Citizens have ignored enough. The protest happening in Delhi is the anger of youth, the anger of parents like me.” 

It may be noted that on June 30, a tree fell on a school bus, killing 11-year-old Vihaan Shrivastav and injuring four other children. The incident raised concerns about the concretisation of roads that required digging near the old trees, as well as negligence by contractors and the BMC administration regarding the maintenance of trees in Mumbai. 

On July 1, BMC formed a three-member  inquiry committee to investigate Chembur tree-fall incident. On July 14, the report was released giving clean chit to the officials from BMC Gardens and Roads Departments, while recommending to impose a fine of ₹5 lakh on the contractor and ₹ 2 lakh supervising consultancy accountable for negligence. 

“It has become a tradition of zero accountability be it tree collapse, manhole death, or slab collapse. Everyone is in race to take credit for big ticket projects. We are here to address this and wake-up government to take responsibility,” said MNS leader Nitin Sardesai.