Woman who vandalised Devendra Fadnavis’s Mumbai office is mentally ill: Cops

The woman who vandalised the office of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the Mantralaya building in Mumbai on Thursday has been identified, police said on Friday.
Mantralaya houses most of the departments of the state government.
The woman, identified as Dhanashri Sahastrabuddhe, is a resident of Ramgiri Heights apartment in Dadar and is said to be mentally unstable, they added.
Police said that a case was registered against Sahastrabuddhe, who had been involved in similar controversies.
“This incident took place at around 6:35 pm on Thursday. The woman has been identified, and an FIR has been registered against her. She has some mental illness. We are investigating how she entered the office. We are going through video footage”, senior police official Praveen Munde said.
After identifying and locating the woman, police arrived at Ramgiri Heights Apartments on Friday to make an arrest. However, upon discovering that the woman was mentally ill, they decided not to proceed with the arrest.
The police chose not to break down the door of her house, which was locked from inside, fearing that the woman might take some drastic step.
The neighbours of Sahastrabuddhe expressed concern over her erratic behaviour, stating that her unstable mental condition poses a persistent disturbance to the residents of the apartment complex. They added that children, along with other residents, live in fear, worried that she might cause harm either to herself or to others.
Meanwhile, vandalisation of Devendra Fadnavis’s office sparked a political blame-game, with Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole questioning the law and order situation under the Mahayuti government.
“You can imagine the law and order situation in the state when the Deputy Chief Minister’s office can be vandalised”, Patole said.
Fadnavis hit back at Patole, saying that the Opposition is making an issue out of it as they don’t have any issues to argue about.
“This incident took place yesterday. We will inquire if the woman has any concerns. We will also investigate if someone had sent her. The Opposition doesn’t have any issues. They are making this an issue”, Fadnavis said on Friday.
On Thursday, Dhanashri Sahastrabuddhe managed to sneak into the high-security Mantralay building and went to the sixth-floor office of Fadnavis despite not possessing any pass.
She raised slogans against the Deputy Chief Minister and also attempted to damage his nameplate by throwing it on the ground. Visuals from the scene showed several potted plants smashed on the floor.
Staffers and police constables tried to detain her, but she managed to escape through the south end gate.