Dr Swapna Patker, a renowned psychologist and producer of Marathi film Balkadu (biopic of Shivsena founder and leader Balasaheb Thackeray), in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has alleged that she is being harassed, tortured and abused by Shiv Sena MP and Editor of Saamana, Sanjay Raut, since the past eight years.
Dr Swapna informed OpIndia that she used to write columns for Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece publication Saamna from 2009-2014 and also took care of some of Sanjay Raut’s Rajya Sabha work. However, when she decided to get back to her profession from her passion, Dr Swapna alleged that Sanjay Raut was not happy with her decision and started to heckle, harass and torture her.
Detailing her ordeal in a two-page letter to the Prime Minister which is pinned on her Twitter profile, Dr Swapna appealed for justice and security. Appealing that her matter be considered at the earliest, she said her complaints were ignored by the police, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, ex-Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and other officials of Maharashtra as the perpetrator has a stronghold in the political party. Dr Swapna claimed that she also met NCP leader Supriya Sule to narrate her ordeal, but that just made matters worse for her.
https://twitter.com/drswapnapatker/status/1376864047417585669?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwShe said, being an educated and empowered woman, she seeks justice and not sympathy.
Dr Swapna in her letter stated that she had been attacked physically in 2013, multiple false cases have been filed against her, her family and friends have been tortured for the past eight years yet no action has been taken by the police department on any of her complaints. She alleged that her relatives were once called and assaulted on the third floor of Shiv Sena Bhavan.
The owner of Dream & Happiness Wellness Centre, Dr Swapna also alleged that Raut had made multiple attempts to malign her character, defame her and wreck her professional life. She says that she was threatened of being slapped with a prostitution case. She says that she has been the victim of vulgar abuses over phone calls and has also received vulgar video calls.
Dr Swapna also made a shocking allegation against retired ACP and encounter specialist Praful Bhosle. Dr Patker claimed that in 2014, she was called in multiple times by the cop and harassed in a false extortion case filed by Sanjay Raut. The matter settled after Dr Swapna informed the cop that she will visit the police station only after she receives a written official order and asked the accuser to take up the matter legally.
Dr Swapna who has been tweeting regularly to seek justice informed that her trauma continues despite filing numerous complaints with the police, NCW and National Human Rights Commission, India. She has now filed a writ petition in the Mumbai High Court.
In her pinned Tweet, Dr Patker stated that she fears her case will be looked at only after her death just like that of Mansukh Hiren.