Pune Police Register Case Against Harshwardhan Sapkal For Alleged Objectionable Remarks On Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj After BJP Files Complaint

Pune: Pune City Police have registered a case against Harshwardhan Sapkal, the Maharashtra Congress State President, following a complaint by Dhiraj Ghate, Pune BJP City President, for allegedly making objectionable remarks about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and comparing him with Tipu Sultan.

According to Dhiraj Ghate, BJP Pune City President, the case has been registered at Parvati Police Station against Harshwardhan Sapkal for comparing Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with Tipu Sultan.

Ghate said, “He hurt the sentiments of Hindus who believe in and consider Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as God. I don't understand by making such a statement, which hurts the sentiments, what point Harshwardhan Sapkal wants to prove. This is why we are here at Parvati Police, who made the complaint against him, and a case has been registered against Harshwardhan Sapkal."

Earlier on Saturday, speaking to reporters on the controversy surrounding a portrait of Tipu Sultan displayed in the office of Malegaon Municipal Corporation Deputy Mayor Shan-e-Hind Nihal Ahmed, which was opposed by the Shiv Sena and other groups, Sapkal said in Marathi that the Mysore ruler had followed Shivaji Maharaj's ideals.

"The kind of bravery that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj possessed and the concept of 'Swarajya' (self-rule) that he introduced... much later, following in that very tradition and taking inspiration from his ideals, Tipu Sultan waged war against the British," Sapkal said.

"In that sense, Tipu Sultan was a great warrior who displayed immense bravery and was a true son of India. He never allowed any poisonous or communal ideas to sway him. As a symbol of bravery, we should view Tipu Sultan as equivalent to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj," he added.

The case against Harshwardhan Sapkal is registered under sections 192, 196(1), 196(2), 352 and 356(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The complaint alleges that Sapkal's remarks hurt the sentiments of Hindus and followers of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and had the potential to disturb communal harmony.

Police said further investigation into the matter is underway.

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