Pune police has registered an offence against Maharashtra MLA Bhaskar Jadhav, who is a member of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, in connection with the alleged objectionable remarks he made while criticising Union minister and BJP leader Narayan Rane and his two sons.
A First Information Report (FIR) in the case was registered at Deccan Gymkhana police station late on Wednesday by Yogesh Shingte (37), who is a BJP worker based in Pune. The FIR pertains to statements made by Jadhav at a rally at Kudal in Sindhudurg district on Tuesday in protest against the action taken by the state Anti-Corruption Bureau on Kudal MLA Vaibhav Naik, who is also a member of the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav.
“Objectionable comments by Bhaskar Jadhav have maligned the image of Union minister Narayan Rane, former MP Nitesh Rane and MLA Nilesh Rane, and have hurt the sentiments of the BJP members,” Shingte said in the FIR.
Similar FIRs have also been registered at Kudal and Mumbai by local BJP workers in connection with the alleged remarks.
Senior inspector Murlidhar Karpe, in-charge of Deccan Gymkhana police station, confirmed that the FIR was registered on Wednesday evening based on Shingte’s complaint.
The police have invoked Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 153A for promoting enmity between different groups, 505 (1B and 2) pertaining to statements conducing to public mischief, 500 pertaining to defamation and 504 for intentional insult.
Meanwhile, in the early hours of Wednesday, some unknown suspects pelted stones, hurled a stump and a petrol bottle on the compound wall of Jadhav’s bungalow in Chiplun town of Ratnagiri district.