 Kulkarni was believed to have started a new social organisation called Abhinav Bharat Sansthan.On 28 October, the Shiv Sena, in "Saamna", came out in support of the accused, saying the arrests were merely political in nature.Lending credence to this, party chief Uddhav Thackeray pointed out a potential conflict interest in political rivalry as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) controlled the relevant ministry.