A 62-year-old Navy veteran, Madan Sharma, was allegedly beaten up by Shiv Sena workers after he forwarded a cartoon on Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday, the police said. The incident took place around 11.30 am in Lokhandwala Complex area in suburban Kandivali.
"Retired Navy officer Madan Sharma had forwarded a cartoon on Thackeray on a WhatsApp group. Some Sena workers went to his house and beat him up. Sharma sustained an eye injury and is being treated at hospital," the police said.
Speaking to ANI on Friday, Madan Sharma said that he was attacked after he forwarded a message on WhatsApp. "Eight to ten persons attacked and beat me up today (Friday) after I received threatening calls for a message that I had forwarded. I have worked for the nation my entire life. A government like this should not exist," Sharma said.
Meanwhile, six people have been arrested so far in connection with the attack, Mumbai Police said on Saturday.
As Shiv Sena workers allegedly attacked the Navy veteran for sharing a cartoon on Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, many Twitter users wondered how can a cartoonist's son not tolerate a cartoon on himself.
For the uninitiated, Bal Thackeray began his career as a cartoonist in The Free Press Journal, one of Mumbai’s oldest English daily. He used his cartoons as a political weapon and struck a chord with the citizens of the state with his 'Marathi Manoos' call.
Let us take a look at the Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray's most iconic cartoons for The Free Press Journal:
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