An alleged Nepali man was tonsured and forced to shout ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Nepal PM Murdabad’ days after Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had claimed Lord Ram was born in Nepal and the real Ayodhya was in Nepal. In the video, which went viral on social media platforms, an unidentified man seen sitting without any clothes on the upper part of his body near a river in Varanasi was confronted by a mob led by a man named Arun Pathak.
The mob made the ‘Nepali man’ shout slogans against PM Oli and Nepal. While shaving his head, he was made to praise India for providing Nepalis livelihood opportunities. Initially, the ‘secular-liberal’ media outlets blamed ‘Hindu outfits’ for the incident, however, later it came to light that the man responsible for performing the said act on the Nepali man was one Arun Pathak, who belonged to the Shiv Sena, currently a ‘secular’ party after its recent alliance with the Congress and the NCP.
However, it was later revealed that the victim was not a ‘Nepali man’ but an Indian citizen, who was identified as Dharmendra Singh. The Varanasi police confirmed that the whole incident was a pre-planned act.
The alleged victim Dharmendra Singh, was contacted by Shiv Sena leader Arun Pathak’s men on July 16 and was told that his services are required for a couple of hours at Ganga Ghat. He was misinformed that there was some event where he would be tonsured and made to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. For his services, he would be given Rs.1000.
Shiv Sena distance itself from Arun Pathak
Following a massive embarrassment to Shiv Sena after one of its leaders caught spreading anti-India propaganda, the Uddhav Thackeray-led ‘secular’ party has now distanced themselves from Arun Pathak to claim that he does not belong to Shiv Sena.
In a tweet, Shiv Sena on Sunday claimed that he was sacked from the party eight years ago for anti-party activities.
Fact check
The claims made by Shiv Sena that Arun Pathak does not belong to Shiv Sena and he was sacked by the party eight years ago is a blatant lie.
Several photographs posted by the individual on his social media profile expose his association with Shiv Sena, at least till 2019. Pathak has posted several images along with Shiv Sena leaders.
In the below image, he can be seen sitting next to Shiv Sena MLA Sunil Raut. The graffiti of former Shiv Sena leader Balasaheb Thackeray is also visible in the post, which was posted by Arun Pathak on October 18, 2019, a few days before Maharashtra legislative elections.
In another image posted by Arun Pathak, he can be seen wearing Shiv Sena party shawl along with another party leader. The image was posted by the man on October 9, 2019, less than a year from the incident contrary to the claims of Shiv Sena that he was sacked eight years ago.
Similarly, he can be seen wearing a similar Shiv Sena ‘gamcha’. The image was posted on July 16, 2019.
Most importantly, Shiv Sena leader Arun Pathak was seen standing next to none other than Shiv Sena chief and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. In the image, it can be seen that the two of them are gleefully greeting each other confirming that he was in good terms with the party and its leadership. May be he was not sacked at all.
The image was posted by Pathak himself on April 26, 2019.
From the above images, it can be categorically stated that Arun Pathak is very much an active member of the Shiv Sena party, contrary to the claims of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party that he was sacked eight years ago.
