Thane court in Maharashtra has sent Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale to police custody till 18th May 2022. Ketaki Chitale was arrested on 14th May 2022 for sharing an allegedly derogatory post on Facebook against NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. Ketaki Chitale’s post has created a major uproar in Maharashtra politics and along with NCP leaders and workers, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray and opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis have also opposed the use of so-called objectionable language for Sharad Pawar.
Maharashtra | Thane court sends Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale to police custody till 18th May
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2022
Marathi actress Ketaki Chitale was arrested for allegedly sharing a derogatory post on Facebook against NCP chief Sharad Pawar
Ketaki Chitale argued on her own in court without a lawyer to present her case. She was produced before the holiday court on Sunday 15th May 2022, in the morning itself. The police had informed the court that custody was required to further investigate the so-called objectionable post.
Ketaki Chitale is charged under sections 500 (defamation), 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory), 505 (2) (making, publishing or circulating any statement, rumor, or report promoting enmity, hatred, or ill will between classes), 153 A (spreading disharmony among people), of the Indian Penal Code. Till now, 5 cases have been registered against her at various places in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra | One more case under sections 153A, 500, 501 and 504, 506 and 34 of IPC has been registered against Marathi actress Ketaki Chitale at Bhoiwada police station in Mumbai
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2022
A total of 5 cases have been registered against her so far.
Maharashtra Housing Development Minister Jitendra Awhad had threatened that NCP workers and cadres will register offenses in “at least 100-200” police stations across Maharashtra in connection with the said Facebook post. NCP workers had also thrown eggs and ink at Ketaki Chitale while she was coming out of the Kalamboli police station in Navi Mumbai on Saturday.
What did Ketaki Chitale write in her Facebook post?
Ketaki Chitale was arrested for sharing a critical post written by Advocate Nitin Bhave. The post, which was in Marathi, made no direct mention of the NCP chief’s full name and mentioned the surname of Sharad Pawar and the age of 80. It is worth noting that the NCP patriarch is an 81-year-old octagenarian.
The post is in form of poetry which says, “Tuka says, hey Pawar, shut off the spray of your mouth. Hurry up, you are already eighty. The hail is waiting for you. All your residue canines are broken. You keep salivating frequently. You dare to insult Samarth. He is the father of your father. You are jealous of Brahmins. Who are you? Just a mosquito. Enough of the sins you have committed. Keep quiet, otherwise, there will be a ruckus. You have swallowed the things for free. That’s why your face is distorted. This man keeps looting people. He is the biggest fraudster.”
In this poetry, Samarth is probably implied towards Samarth Ramdas Swami who was contemporary to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Many people believe that he was one of the key figures whom Shivaji Maharaj respected like a Guru. However, many others including Maratha caste-centric ‘thinkers’ aligning themselves with NCP and Sharad Pawar deny this and keep spreading concocted lies about the seventeenth century Marathi Saint. This is one of the reasons why NCP and Sharad Pawar are repeatedly accused of setting up a dispute between two influential caste groups in Maharashtra viz. Brahmins and Marathas.
