On Saturday (18th November), author Namdev Jadhav filed a complaint against NCP goons hours after Sharad Pawar’s faction of the NCP smeared ink on him. He alleged that the provocation for the attack came from “senior leaders” of the party. He indirectly pointed fingers towards Sharad Pawar.
45-year-old Namdev Jadhav hails from the family of maternal ancestors of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He is an author and motivational speaker. He had claimed that it was Sharad Pawar who while working as the chief minister of Maharashtra in the past had laid down policies against Maratha reservation. Goons of the Nationalist Congress Party’s Sharad Pawar faction attacked Namdev Jadhav and smeared ink on him on Saturday in Pune. Namdev Jadhav then lodged a complaint based on which an FIR was registered at the Vishrambag police station in Pune.
Namdev Jadhav said in his complaint, “Ten to 15 NCP workers threatened me that I would be finished from the face of the earth if I ever took a stand against Sharad Pawar in future. They smeared ink on my face and body and also manhandled police guard Akshay Kamble. The provocation of this attack came from the senior leaders.”
Sub-inspector Ganesh Fartade said, “We have launched a probe in the case. The process to identify the suspects is on. No arrests have been made yet.”
Namdev Jadhav was going to attend an event scheduled to be held on the premises of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) in Pune. Following awareness of the agitation, BORI denied permission for the private event. As Pawar supporters gathered, police were deployed.
NCP goons later went to Patrakar Bhavan, where Jadhav was present for another event. While he was interacting with the media, NCP workers began shouting slogans in support of Pawar. A policeman tried to calm them, but one protester smeared Jadhav’s face with black ink. More protesters joined, throwing ink on Jadhav despite the policeman’s protective embrace.
The police have pressed charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to unlawful assembly, rioting, criminal force against a public servant, causing harm, endangering public safety, wrongful restraint, intentional insult, and criminal intimidation.
Namdev Jadhav said, “This is an attack on democracy. This is an attack on five crore Marathas. I will not hold party workers responsible for this. The primary figure behind this is Sharad Pawar, followed by Rohit Pawar. I will leave no stone unturned to make sure that they lose their seats in Parliament and the state assembly respectively.”
Meanwhile, Prashant Jagtap, the Pune city president of the Nationalist Congress Party, has accepted responsibility for this attack against Namdevrao Jadhav. Jagtap said that Jadhav was making accusations without providing evidence.
