Shiv Sainiks re-arrested for attacking ex-Navy veteran Madan Sharma over cartoon on Uddhav Thackeray

Bowing down to pressure, the Maharashtra government on Friday ordered the re-arrest of six Shiv Sainiks who last week manhandled a retired Indian Navy veteran for allegedly circulating a cartoon on social media that portrayed Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in bad light.

The victim, Madan Sharma (65), a retired Chief Petty Officer, was attacked in the housing complex at Kandivali suburbs of Mumbai.

The Mumbai police arrested six Shiv Sainiks hours after Sharma along with BJP leaders and veterans met Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at the Raj Bhavan here.

The Samata Nagar police station arrested Kamlesh Kadam and Sanjay Manjare, both Shakha Pramukhs, besides activists Pratap Vera, Sunil Desai, Rakesh Mulik and Rakesh Belnekar.

They were produced before the Borivali magistrate’s court, which remanded them to police custody for 14 days.

The arrests came after the police invoked additional charges under Indian Penal Code section 452 pertaining to house trespassing after preparation of assault, hurt and wrongful restraint in the first information report lodged against them.

The WhatsApp message had a cartoon mocking Thackeray, who was shown bowing before Congress president Sonia Gandhi and NCP founder Sharad Pawar. Incidentally, Uddhav’s father and late Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray, was himself a cartoonist and founder of Marmik, Saamana, and Dopahar ka Saamana.

The opposition BJP had lashed out at the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and letting the Shiv Sainiks go scot free. Last week also, the Shiv Sainiks were arrested but they got bail in 24 hours.

The issue snowballed into a political row when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called up the 65-year old Sharma and ex-servicemen protesting in New Delhi and other parts of India to protest the assault.

Maharashtra’s leader of opposition in the Assembly and ex-Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his counterpart in the Council Pravin Darekar have launched a scathing attack on the government. Bollywood actors including Kangana Ranaut condemned the incident.