On November 13, Thane Police served notice to Sameet Thakkar over alleged defamatory tweets about NCP leader Nawab Malik and Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad. A criminal case was registered against Thakkar on Friday by the Thane Police. Reportedly, a team of Sitabuldi Police Station led by senior inspector Atul Sabnis had visited Thakkar’s house in Wathoda to record a statement.
Rishi Thakkar, Sameet’s brother, said in a statement that 180-200 police personnel came to their house. He said, “On Saturday, around 180-200 cops landed up at our house, which is questionable.” He added that the Police wanted Sameet to step out of the house but stepped back after Chandrashekhar Bawankule, former guardian minister, assured that he would bring Sameet the next day. In a statement to the media, he said Sameet would appear before Police within a week.
सुमित ठक्कर एका आठवड्यात मुंबई पोलिस समोर हजर व्हा – चंद्रशेखर बावनकुळे
— Maharashtra Today (@mtnews_official) November 13, 2021
यावर तुमची प्रतिक्रिया कमेंट्स करून सांगा !#maharashtratoday @cbawankule #Chandrashekharbawankule @BJP4Maharashtra #bjp pic.twitter.com/3fT9ds7QRW
Rishi further alleged that a senior journalist had issued threats to his brother for “exposing” a politician. He said, “My brother is a citizen activist and a freelance journalist without any party affiliation.” He added that as Sameet has been exposing the truth and wrongdoings of the politicians in power and some cricketers, he is being targeted.
Amitesh Kumar, Nagpur Police chief, said that Nagpur police only provided assistance to a team of Kalwa Police that had visited Thakkar’s house to serve him notice. “Nagpur police only accompanied the team from Kalwa,” he said and claimed the steps the Police took were in accordance with the law.
Reports suggest that when Thane Police reached Thakkar’s house, Bawankule and several BJP workers also reached the spot. The Police wanted to arrest Thakkar but relented as there were chances that BJP workers might agitate against the Police. Notably, Thakkar was arrested earlier over similar offences and had spent several weeks in custody.
Thakkar alleged drug bust link to NCP
In the now-deleted tweet, Thakkar had said, “Mumbra Maharashtra resident Sajjad Dhosi who was arrested in Dwarka Gujarat Drug haul case with 88 cr drugs in bags is an aide of Maharashtra Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad. Hello Miya @nawabmalikncp you your party are truly Narcotics Congress Party.”
The case against Thakkar was registered based on the complaint of one Dinesh Bane, NCP worker from the Kalwa-Mumbra assembly. In his complaint, Bane said Thakkar posted the tweet at around 3:59 on November 11. He alleged that Thakkar published the tweet with “an intention of creating more tension” as there was an ongoing war of words among political parties in Maharashtra. The case was registered under Section 505(2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Thakkar’s tweet was based on a drug bust that took place in Dwarka, Gujarat, on November 11. In a joint operation with a special operation group, the Police recovered 19 packets of drugs worth 88 crores. The Police had detained 44-year-old Sajjad Dhosi of Mumbra, district Thane, Maharashtra. He was allegedly carrying 6.618 KG of methamphetamine and 11.483 KG of heroin.
