Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut has alleged an underworld conspiracy behind the recent political developments, that he said were being engineered to create 1992-like communal strife. He accused independent MP Navneet Rana, who has been arrested on sedition and other charges after threatening Hanuman Chalisa recital in front of the chief minister’s Kalanagar house, of having received Rs 80 lakh in the past  from Yusuf Lakdawala, a builder and alleged financier of the Dawood Ibrahim gang, who was investigated for money laundering.

Bhonge,  Hanuman Chalisa recital and other incidents are an attempt to create communal tension and riots like those that took place in Mumbai in 1992. It is a conspiracy funded by the D-gang (Dawood Ibrahim),” he said on Wednesday.