Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar.Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale has been arrested by the Thane crime branch for a derogatory post against Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on her Facebook profile. A senior crime branch official from Thane police confirmed the development. Ketaki Chitale will be produced before a court on Sunday.
Meanwhile, tension prevailed in front of the Kalamboli Police station after a group of people who had gathered there tried to attack the actor. They also threw ink on her.
Earlier in the day, Chitale was detained by the crime branch officials for questioning, after which they recorded her arrest.
This is the second FIR registered against a person in the last 24 hours for making provocative statements against the NCP supremo.
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A group of people try to attack actor Ketaki Chitale, at Kalamboli Police station. (Express photo) In her post on Friday, Chitale made derogatory remarks on Pawar’s illness, appearance and his voice. The actor also alleged that the senior politician was corrupt. She has been booked under IPC sections 500 (defamation), 501 (printing or engraving defamatory matter) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR has been registered by the Kalwa police based on a complaint by Swapnil Netke, an NCP leader in Thane.
Reacting to her post, NCP leader and housing minister Jitendra Avhad told media persons, “He (Pawar) has gone through three operations of cancer and he has survived it. He is 83 years old. To comment on his illness, to comment on his body’s condition… such comments are not suitable coming from a woman, a sister. What she wrote is dangerous.”
Actor Ketaki Chitale being shifted from Kalamboli station in a police vehicle. (Express photo) “It’s our fault we did not deal with such comments seriously in the past. We will not ignore them anymore as they keep emboldening them. They are spreading poison in society. Another man, Bhamre, is talking about becoming a Godse in Baramati!… I will not be able to control the emotions of our NCP workers. If our workers get provoked, how many of them will I be able to control?” added Avhad.
Nikhil Bhamre, a 21-year-old pharmacy student from Nashik, was arrested on Friday for allegedly tweeting a provocative statement against Pawar.
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