A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has directed the police to register a first information report (FIR) against NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad, accused of making a statement intended to promote enmity between different groups some years back.
Judicial Magistrate Mahima Saini passed the order on February 3, directing the Bhayandar police to file a case against the former minister under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) and 505 (2) (statements promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between different classes).
The order was passed on an application filed by lawyer Khush Khandelwal, founder of the Hindu Task Force organisation. The case dates back to August 2018, when the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested cow vigilante Vaibhav Raut from Nalasopara in Palghar district and allegedly recovered crude bombs from him, the plea said. While the investigation was going on, Awhad made a statement without any evidence that the bombs were going to be used against agitating Maratha activists, the plea claimed. As Bhayandar police refused to register an FIR, Khandelwal approached the Thane magistrate court in 2019, which acknowledged a cognisable offence, but declined to pass any order for want of jurisdiction.