Mumbai: FIR against unknown persons over blackening of rebel Shiv Sena leader's posters

The MHB Colony police have registered an FIR against two accused who allegedly blackened posters of rebel Shiv Sena leader Sheetal Mhatre and also publicly declared that they would teach her a lesson. Now in the Eknath Shinde camp, Mhatre has served as the party's spokesperson as well as a corporator from her area in the past.

According to the MHB Colony police, the FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint submitted by Jitendra Mhatre, who is the Shiv Sena ‘Shakha Pramukh’ from Kandarpada, Dahisar.

The incident is alleged to have occurred on Wednesday when Sheetal, Jitendra and some others had gone to visit recently sworn-in Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

“We returned from the Varsha bungalow at around 11 p.m. on Wednesday and some of my associates told me that two people had blackened the former corporator's face on several hoardings in the area. I immediately left with them and visited the sites of all these hoardings,” Jitendra has said in his complaint to the police.

Jitendra made inquiries with local residents and one of them showed him a video in which a group of 12 to 15 people, with two men in the lead, were seen blackening Sheetal’s face in one of the hoardings. The two men were also heard loudly saying that they would teach her a lesson and used abusive language while referring to her.

Subsequently, Jitendra visited the police station to file a complaint in this regard on Thursday.

“Based on the complaint, we have identified two of the miscreants as Rahul Gawand and Akshay Raut, and are trying to identify the others. We have charged them for the intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace and criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code, along with the Maharashtra Police Act for breaking the order currently in effect that forbids assembly of five or more persons in light of the current political climate in the State,” said an officer with the MHB Colony police station.