Criminal case against Sambhaji Bhide for insulting reformer Jotiba Phule
Bhide is facing similar cases elsewhere in the state for his offensive remarks against Mahatma Gandhi, Saibaba of Shirdi and other social reformers in his speeches over the last two weeks. On August 1, an FIR was registered against him in Nashik for his speech in Amravati in the last week of July
PANVEL: The Panvel taluka police in Navi Mumbai registered a criminal case against right-wing leader Sambhaji Bhide on Sunday for his alleged remarks against women, Muslims and social reformer Jotiba Phule at a public gathering in Nashik.
Acting on a complaint raised by advocate Amit Katarnaware, the police booked Bhide under sections of the IPC pertaining to intentionally insulting or intimidating a member of a scheduled caste or tribe, promoting enmity between different groups, imputations prejudicial to national integration, and deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings.
The case has been filed based on a video recording of Bhide. “As a citizen and firm believer in the Constitution, I was extremely disturbed about the kind of language used against women, Muslims and most importantly against leaders like Mahatma Phule,” said Katarnaware. “The content of the recording is extremely vulgar and is intended only to spew religion-based and caste-based hatred and create unrest in society.”
The advocate revealed that Bhide in the video had publicly called for the killing of Hindu women in a relationship with Muslim men. “Besides making derogatory remarks about the women, Bhide exhorted people to chop them to pieces with a sickle,” said Katarnaware. “In the same video, he has called Phule a bootlicker.”
Bhide is facing similar cases elsewhere in the state for his offensive remarks against Mahatma Gandhi, Saibaba of Shirdi and other social reformers in his speeches over the last two weeks. On August 1, an FIR was registered against him in Nashik for his speech in Amravati in the last week of July. Another case was registered in Amravati in the last week of July, for his offensive remarks about Mahatma Gandhi’s lineage at a gathering in Bharat Mangal Hall.
Getting the police to register the case was not an easy task for Katarnaware. “On July 30 I got my statement recorded but my request for a criminal case was not entertained,” he said. “I then approached the deputy commissioner of police to register a case under Section 154 of the CrPC (pertaining to the duty of the police to record information given orally or in writing) but even here, there was no response. I then approached the superintendent of police. I finally raised the matter with the special court, and made the police party to it for negligence of duty and trying to save Bhide from legal punishment. The matter was to come up on Monday, but before that, on Sunday, the police issued a notice to me that they had registered the criminal case.”
Bhide (90), who heads the Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan, is synonymous with controversies. He stirred up a controversy in June 2018 by saying that medicinal mangoes from his orchard had helped infertile couples bear children. Last year, he asked a female journalist to put a bindi on her forehead before asking him for a sound byte. Last month, he demanded that all warkaris (devotees) of Pandharpur stick to a dress code. He also said that devotees to the Vitthal temple should not be allowed entry unless they wore a dhoti.
