Nationalist Congress Party MLA Jitendra Awhad was arrested on Friday in a case registered against him for disrupting a screening of the Marathi movie Har Har Mahadev in Thane on November 7, reported The Indian Express.
The incident occurred on Monday night when Awhad and his supporters barged into a theatre at Thane’s Viviana mall and asked the audience members to leave, alleging that the movie showed a distorted version of Maratha history, reported the Hindustan Times.
Some members of the audience were beaten up as well.
A first information report was lodged at the Vartak Nagar police against Awhad and 100 of his supporters under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code and Maharashtra Police Act relating to unlawful assembly, rioting and causing hurt, reported the newspaper.
The case was registered on a complaint by a Thane businessman who alleged that he was thrashed by Awhad’s supporters when he demanded that they refund the price of the tickets they bought, reported the Hindustan Times.
On Friday, Awhad said that the Maharashtra government was abusing police power by ordering his arrest.
Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, a former Rajya Sabha MP, who claims to be a descendant of the 17th century Maratha king Shivaji had warned earlier that films distorting historical facts about his ancestors’ lives would be strongly opposed.
“A number of inaccuracies have been pointed out in the recently released movie Har Har Mahadev,” Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati had said reported The Indian Express. “We are also hearing about the distortion of facts in Vedant Marathe Veer Daudale Saat. If any such movie is made we will not only oppose it but will stall their release.”
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