Activist Saket Gokhale gets police protection after threats

Saket Gokhale. (Twitter @SaketGokhale)

The Maharashtra government has provided security to activist Saket Gokhale, after he complained that RSS workers had gathered outside his house and threatened his mother last week.

Gokhale on Thursday had questioned the appointment of an agency associated with the BJP for the Election Commission’s publicity work before last year’s Assembly polls in Maharashtra.

Last Saturday, Gokhale had tweeted a video of a few people chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ outside his residence in Mira Road. He wrote: “URGENT: RSS WORKERS ARE OUTSIDE MY HOUSE CHANTING JAI SHRI RAM. THEY JUST THREATENED MY MOTHER. REQUESTING URGENT ASSISTANT @anildeshmukh ji.”

URGENT:

RSS WORKERS ARE OUTSIDE MY HOUSE CHANTING JAI SHRI RAM.

THEY JUST THREATENED MY MOTHER.

Request urgent assistance @AnilDeshmukhNCP ji. @Thane_R_Police pic.twitter.com/PQZ85RpQCg

— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) July 24, 2020

Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had responded to the tweet saying that Gokhale would be provided protection and that the Thane (Rural) police had been informed about the same.

Senior inspector of Kashimira police station, Sanjay Hajare, said that they have deployed a policeman for Gokhale’s protection at his residence. “So far, we have not received any complaint. Hence, an FIR has not been registered,” he added.

While Gokhale did not respond to calls, a person close to him, who did not wish to be identified, said the men had tried to barge into the activist’s housing society lift before being stopped by security guards. They then began to shout for Gokhale to come out of his home. “A mob had gathered and there was no telling what could have happened had he gone downstairs,” said the individual.

In the meantime, while the family contacted the local police, Gokhale tweeted to Deshmukh seeking assistance. “The mob seems to have been irked by Saket’s revelations that the Maharashtra Election Commission had hired a company linked to the BJP’s IT Cell for its social media promotion last year,” said the individual.

Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court on Friday rejected a public interest litigation filed by Gokhale seeking directions from the court to restrain the ground-laying ceremony of the Ram mandir in Ayodhya scheduled for August 5.