On 25th May 2023, Assistant Sub Inspector Bhaginath Wagh of the Sillod (Rural) police station was suspended for booking a case against a youth named Sagar Wankhede under section 295A of the IPC for sharing a social media post. The Superintendent of Police (Rural) of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in Maharashtra issued an order in this regard on Thursday, May 25.
The suspension order mentions, “It is found that you committed dereliction of duty.” The list of apparently questionable and contentious FIRs filed by this police officer is then given in the order which includes FIR number 107/2023 registered against Sagar Wankhede – a 23-year-old Hindu youth from the Borgaon Bazar village in the Sillod taluka.
Sillod Case: Sagar Wankhede VS Amir Shoukat Shah.
— Sunaina Holey (@SunainaHoley) May 26, 2023
ASI Bhaginath Wagh who registered FIR under Abdul Sattar’s pressure has been suspended from the duty from 12 Noon 25.05.2023.
Here’s the official order.
Thank you @Dev_Fadnavis 🙏@damgude_tushar @ShefVaidya @RealHistoriPix pic.twitter.com/J0gaJFoa6x
It is notable that on May 19, Sagar Wankhede shared a social media post depicting Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj crushing the head of Mughal tyrant Aurangzeb. Local Muslim youth Amir Shaukat Shaha had then filed a complaint of hurting religious sentiments against Sagar Wankhede in the Sillod (Rural) police station on May 20. Sagar Wankhede was produced before the session court in Sillod on the same day and was sent to 14-day magistrate custody remand.
There was a demand in social media about suspending the investigating officer API Sitaram Mehetre in this case for needlessly invoking serious sections against the Hindu youth just over a social media post. But it was later found that ASI Bhaginath Wagh who received the complaint and filed the FIR in the first place was suspended by the SP (Rural) of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.
The suspension order states that disciplinary action is being taken against the police officer, and a final decision will be taken based on the inquiry report. Bhaginath Wagh will be attached to the Aurangabad Rural Police Headquarters during his suspension period.
OpIndia spoke to Appasaheb Paradhe – the joint secretary of the RSS for the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. Providing more information on this matter, he told, “Bhaginath Wagh is just the primary police personnel involved in this case. There are two-three more officers who need to be suspended in this case. Hindu youths in the locality are not completely content with the suspension. Many social media users posted that video yesterday and challenged that let there be a case booked against them if anyone can dare to file one. Similarly, one Hindu youth in the same village had posted the status of the same visuals on his social media account. Again 40-50 Muslims gathered at the police station and demanded a similar case but the local police did not entertain them.”
He further informed, “The court did not hear the bail plea of Sagar Wankhede today. There were so many cases and the court ran out of time. We expect that tomorrow the court will hear the bail plea.”
According to sources, the local Hindu youths are alleging that the API Sitaram Mehetre should be suspended but the police department has suspended a junior beat officer instead because of the political pressure of Abdul Sattar. It is being asked by them that if API Sitaram Mehetre was on leave on that day, then how come he reached to sign the FIR in the first place?
