The Thane Police on Tuesday filed a first information report against Nationalist Congress Party MLA Jitendra Awhad for allegedly stopping the screening of a Marathi movie along with his supporters, the Hindustan Times reported.
The former state minister allegedly barged into a multiplex in the city with about a hundred of his supporters to stop the late night screening of the film Har Har Mahadev. The movie narrates the story of Baji Prabhu Deshpande, a general of 17-century Maratha ruler Shivaji who died in a crucial rear-guard battle that allowed the king to escape the Panhala fort in the present-day Kolhapur district.
Awhad claimed that the film distorts history, according to The Indian Express. “Even the presentation of mawlas [foot soldiers] has been depicted wrongly,” he said. “…It depicts Marathas and Marathis as two entities. Shockingly, there is a scene where Bajiprabhu wields sword against Shivaji… this is ridiculous.”
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had challenged the Nationalist Congress Party MLA to force the cancellation of the film in Thane, and said it would hold free screenings of the movie in the city.
On Monday night, Awhad and his supporters allegedly barged into a movie theatre at the city’s Viviana Mall and stopped the screening.
The MLA’s supporters also allegedly beat up a man who tried to stop them, ANI reported.
The police have filed a case under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Maharashtra Police Act pertaining to unlawful assembly, rioting and causing hurt.
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