Overview

• Thane police registered an FIR on Tuesday naming Pradeep Yashwant Purnekar and an accomplice after TVs were smashed at two hotels.
• Investigators said the pair entered Hill Top and California Hotel in Brahmand Naka around 9 pm on Sunday and damaged sets airing the Asia Cup final.
• Local Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders had publicly warned venues that televisions and projectors would be destroyed if they screened the India–Pakistan match.
• Videos of the vandalism circulated online as party figures, invoking Bal Thackeray’s past tactics, defended the action and vowed to stop future screenings.
• Protesters cited anger over the Pahalgam massacre to argue that playing Pakistan normalises ties despite security concerns, even as India won the final by five wickets.