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

The removal comes days after Mumbai Police issued legal notices to 24 X (formerly Twitter) account holders who had shared the film. The documentary was posted by tech entrepreneur and Hotmail founder Sabir Bhatia, and the notices were issued on October 18.

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

Thackeray’s own account of the episode is the one driving the story. He said the documentary had crossed more than 48 lakh views on X after being posted to inform the public. He did not describe the contents of the request beyond saying he was complying with it.

In a post on X, Thackeray wrote: "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."

His party colleagues were not willing to let that go quietly. MNS leaders questioned whether the police had been under pressure to make the request at all. The film had been screened at one of the party’s shakhas, or local branches, on Saturday, which made its removal the next day all the more striking for party workers.

MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande went further, publicly asking what pressure the police might have faced and whether tracking social media posts was the force’s job. The sharpest line came from Deshpande, who said: "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."

"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." - Sandeep Deshpande, MNS leader

The Bishnoi gang has been linked to attacks on several high-profile personalities. Deshpande’s remark ties the police’s priorities to that broader concern, though the reporting does not establish any connection between the gang and the documentary or the legal notices.

Thackeray said his interest in the Adani-Modi relationship predates the film. He said he had been raising concerns about the close ties between the two since January 2026, ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. He said he had made a detailed presentation at his residence, Shivteerth, in January 2026, which illustrated how the Adani Group was seeking to take control of the country.

Thackeray described that presentation as having received an exceptional response. He said videos of it remained available on his social media accounts, and that some clips had been incorporated into Bhatia’s documentary. That detail links the two efforts, even though Thackeray and Bhatia are presented as separate voices in the reporting.

Thackeray said the documentary also traced the history of the relationship between Adani and Modi. Bhatia had produced the film recently, while Thackeray’s presentation came earlier in the year.

In a separate post, Thackeray moved from the Adani-Modi question to land. He 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 state government had transferred large tracts of forest and wilderness land in Maharashtra to a select group of industrialists and planned to hand over more.

These are allegations made by Thackeray, and the reporting does not include a response from the government or the companies named in them. Readers should treat them as his claims until official records or statements confirm or contradict them.

An MNS functionary said Thackeray would address a rally in Karjat on October 28 on the forest land issue. That event is likely to test how far the party can push the issue beyond social media, and whether the police action over the documentary becomes a larger political fight in Maharashtra.

For now, the sequence is clear. A documentary critical of Modi and Adani drew legal notices to dozens of X users, a senior political figure removed it at the police’s request, and his party is asking who applied the pressure. Each step has raised questions about political speech, the limits of police action and the role of powerful business and political figures in public debate.