MNS chief Raj Thackeray visits home of dead police aspirant

MUMBAI: Raj Thackeray on Saturday visited the Vikhroli residence of Rahul Sakpal who died while appearing for a physical test for a job in the state police force recently.
Sakpal died of exhaustion after he was made to run 5 km as part of the physical endurance test. Four other candidates too died in separate incidents, raising serious questions about the home department’s process of eligibility tests for the force.
Thackeray, expressing his shock and sorrow, assured the Sakpal family that he would offer jobs to Rahul’s two sisters. The Sakpals informed the MNS chief that financial assistance promised to them by the home department was still to materialize. Thackeray told mediapersons his party would offer amenities to candidates appearing for the police force tests and asked party functionaries to initiate measures in this connection.
The MNS is likely to take up the issue to woo Marathi voters in Mumbai ahead of the assembly polls, say observers. “The police force has a sizeable section of Marathis. We will fight to bring a change in the home department’s system of physical endurance test and job interviews,” said a senior MNS functionary.