BJP Yuva Morcha Secretary Pradip Gavade was arrested on Saturday by the cyber cell of the Mumbai Police for criticising NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and his grandnephew Rohit Pawar on Twitter. Incidentally, he is the same person who had filed a case against Sharjeel Usmani in February.
Bandra Cyber Cell Police arrested Gavade from his Pune residence today morning. A case has been registered against him under sections 295A, 500 and 505/2 of the IPC as well as IT Act 67. Gavade alleged a political conspiracy behind the arrest. “My arrest is a political conspiracy. Big people are involved. I should have given 421 notice. If the Pawar family is so scared, then they should play Gota in Govind Bagh,” Gavade said.
Gavade had filed a case against Sharjeel Usmani in the aftermath of the latter’s address at Elgar Parishad 2021 where he had incited hatred against the Hindu community. Sharjeel Usmani had said that the ‘Hindu Samaj’ of today is “rotten” to the core.
Following the controversial event, several BJP leaders from Maharashtra had demanded Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government to take action against Sharjeel Usmani for his Hinduphobic speech at Elgar Parishad in Pune.
Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis had alleged that Sharjeel Usmani had insulted sentiments of Hindus during his speech at the Elgar Parishad conclave held recently in Pune, and demanded strict action against him.
Since then, Sharjeel Usmani has continued his tirade against the Hindu community. Only recently, he had deliberately given a communal angle to a crime and claimed that a Hindu who chanted Jai Shri Ram was most likely a terrorist. An FIR has been registered against him for the same.
