One more case booked against Bhide for derogatory remarks against Saibaba, Jyotiba Phule

The case was registered on August 1 on the complaint lodged by the president of a Nashik-based social organisation

Nashik: An FIR has been registered against right-wing leader Sambhaji Bhide for his alleged derogatory remarks against Saibaba of Shirdi and social reformer Jyotiba Phule in Nashik city of Maharashtra, an official said on Wednesday.

The case was registered on August 1 on the complaint lodged by the president of a Nashik-based social organisation. Later, police transferred the FIR to their counterparts in Amravati where Bhide had allegedly made these remarks.

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Notably, an FIR was registered last week in Amravati against Bhide, the founder of the Shri Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan outfit, for allegedly making offensive remarks about Mahatma Gandhi’s lineage during his speech, police had said.

Nashik Police registered the case under sections 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class), 153 A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc.), 298 (Uttering, words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person) and defamation under the Indian Penal Code, the official said.

“On July 30, in an area under the jurisdiction of Rajapeth police station in Amravati city, Sambhaji Bhide made controversial statements with the motive to insult Mahatma Phule, Raja Rammohan Roy and Shri Saibaba. Bhide used abusive and bad language about Phule and Saibaba,” the FIR stated.