Dharmadhikari fake letter: Man arrested from Pune did not write ‘letter’, only forwarded it

A 24-year-old man who was arrested from Pune for allegedly posting on social media a fake letter in the name of social activist and Maharashtra Bhushan awardee Appasaheb Dharmadhikari did not actually write it, police said on Tuesday.

The accused, identified as Shubham Kale, made a few changes to the letter and forwarded it to different WhatsApp groups, the police said.

Kale was aware that the letter was fake and he made a few changes and shared it

Local Crime Branch Inspector Dayananda Gawade said that Kale forwarded the letter knowing it was fake.

“Kale was aware that the letter was fake and he made a few changes and shared it in several WhatsApp groups,” Gawade said. He added that the main accused who wrote the fake letter has not yet been arrested.

A follower of Dharmadhikari on Saturday filed a complaint at Revdanda Police Station after the fake letter went viral.

Claims made in the 'fake' letter

It claimed that Dharmadhikari would return the state award, given to him recently at a function in Kharghar in Navi Mumbai, in view of the heatstroke tragedy that claimed 14 lives after the event.

Kale, a commerce graduate, was arrested early Monday and presented at Alibaug Court, which sent him to police custody for a day.

Meanwhile, Raigad’s Resident Deputy Collector Padmashri Bainade said that the kin of each of the 14 people who died has been paid a compensation of Rs5 lakh, as announced earlier by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The amount of compensation for those who fell ill after the event will be paid directly to the hospitals where they underwent treatment, the official said.

A state anti-superstition body has submitted a memorandum to the Raigad collector demanding the registration of a culpable homicide case into the Kharghar incident and an inquiry by a retired judge.