Mumbai Police arrest 6, including Sena workers for attack on ex-Navy officer for sharing cartoon on Thackeray

Mumbai Police arrests 6, including Sena workers for attack on ex-Navy officer for sharing cartoon on Thackeray

The Mumbai Police on Friday arrested six people, including a Shiv Sena member and a shakha pramukh, in connection with the attack on a retired Navy officer in Kondivali East area for forwarding a cartoon mocking Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

All the six accused were arrested by the Mumbai police overnight after an FIR was registered in connection with the incident. Shiv Sena’s shakha pramukh Kamlesh Kadam and another party worker Sanjay Manjre are among the six arrested.

In his complaint, Madan Sharma, the 65-year-old former Navy officer said he had forwarded the cartoon to his residential society’s WhatsApp group. He later received a call from one Kamlesh Kadam, who asked his name and address.

Speaking to ANI on Friday, Madan Sharma said that he was attacked after he forwarded a message on WhatsApp.

“Eight to ten persons attacked and beat me up today after I received threatening calls for a message that I had forwarded. I have worked for the nation my entire life. A government like this should not exist,” Sharma said.

BJP MLA Atul Bhatkalkar shared a video on Twitter that shows six men barging inside a residential property. They drag Madan Sharma out by the collar and can be seen slapping him in the face multiple times.

“The ruling Shiv Sena which showed its masculinity by demolishing the office of actor Kangana Ranaut has now beaten a retired Navy officer and has injured his eye. The Chief Minister is running dictatorship from his house,” Atul Bhatkhalkar, BJP MLA from Mumbai’s Kandivali East constituency, tweeted in Hindi.

Dr Sheela Sharma, daughter of the former officer said that he was attacked by people from the Shiv Sena after the received threats for forwarding a message on Whatsapp.

“My father received threats for forwarding a message. A number of people from the Shiv Sena attacked him. Later, the police came to our residence and insisted on taking my father with them. We’ve registered an FIR,” she said.

Reacting to the incident, BJP and opposition leader in Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis had expressed shock and appealed to the state’s Chief Minister to take action against the accused.

“Extremely sad and shocking incident. Retired Naval Officer got beaten up by goons because of just a WhatsApp forward. Please stop this ‘GundaRaj Uddhav Thackeray ji’. We demand strong action and punishment to these goons (sic),” Mr Fadnavis tweeted