Raj Thackeray deletes Modi-Adani documentary after Mumbai Police request

Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday said he had deleted a documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani from his social media accounts following a “request” from the Mumbai Police Commissioner.

Thackeray’s statement comes days after Mumbai Police issued legal notices to 24 X (formerly Twitter) account holders for sharing a controversial documentary posted by tech entrepreneur and Hotmail founder Sabir Bhatia.

Reacting to the development, MNS leaders questioned whether the police were under pressure to make such a request.

Thackeray claimed that the documentary, made by Bhatia, had garnered more than 48 lakh views on X after being posted to inform the public.

The MNS chief said he had been raising concerns about the close ties between Adani and Prime Minister Modi since January 2026, ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections.

“The Mumbai and Maharashtra Police are the most efficient police force in the country, and I have always had respect for them in my heart. I am just honouring the request made by the head of such a Mumbai Police,” he said in a post on X.

Thackeray said the documentary provided information about the history of the relationship between Adani and Modi.

He noted that Bhatia had produced the documentary recently, but he himself had made a detailed presentation at his residence, Shivteerth, in January 2026. According to Thackeray, the presentation illustrated how the Adani Group was seeking to take control of the country. He said the presentation had received an exceptional response and that videos of it remained available on his social media accounts. Some clips, he added, had been incorporated into the documentary.

Meanwhile, MNS leaders expressed surprise at the documentary’s removal. It had been screened at one of the party’s shakhas, or local branches, on Saturday.

MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande questioned why the Mumbai Police had asked Thackeray to remove the documentary.

“What pressure did Mumbai Police have? Is this the job of the Mumbai Police? They don’t have time (to find out) how Bishnoi gang goons come to the city, but they have time to see who posted what video,” Deshpande said.

The Bishnoi gang has been linked to attacks on several high-profile personalities. The specific reference to actor Tiger Shroff in the original report should be independently verified before publication.

On October 18, Mumbai Police issued legal notices to 24 X account holders who had shared the documentary posted by Bhatia.

According to the notices, the documentary allegedly contained false, misleading and disparaging statements and allegations against the company, circulated without any factual or lawful basis and causing continuing harm to its reputation, goodwill and public image.

In a separate post, Thackeray alleged that the Centre had directed the Maharashtra government to hand over several hundred hectares of forest land in Bhimashankar to Gujarat-based Torrent Group.

He further alleged that the government had transferred large tracts of forest and wilderness land in Maharashtra to a select group of industrialists and planned to hand over more.

An MNS functionary said Thackeray would address a rally in Karjat on October 28 on the issue.