India, July 14 -- A video rant against the imposition of Marathi language has come back to haunt a Virar auto-rickshaw driver-quite literally. Days after his comments went viral and sparked outrage, a group of Shiv Sena (UBT) workers tracked him down on a busy street and slapped him in full public view, forcing an apology that was filmed and widely circulated online.

The man at the centre of the storm is Raju Patwa, an auto driver whose earlier video-where he allegedly refused to speak in Marathi and made disparaging comments about the language and state-had triggered widespread outrage on social media. The backlash was swift and furious, with local Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers launching a manhunt to locat...