Irked by Uddhav cartoon, Shiv Sainiks assault retired sailor

At least two Shiv Sainiks have been arrested in connection with an assault on a retired naval personnel who allegedly forwarded a cartoon on Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, officials said here on Saturday.

The victim, Madan Sharma, 65, is a resident of Kandivali who reportedly forwarded a cartoon showing Thackeray prostrating before pictures of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar, on a WhatsApp group of his society members. Though nobody reacted from the society, someone forwarded the cartoon to Kadam, his medico daughter Sheela Sharma said.

The Shiv Sainiks, including Shakha Pramukh Kamlesh Kadam, found these objectionable and stormed into Sharma's home in Kandivali East on Friday, said an official of Samata Nagar Police Station here. It was a group of around 8-10 persons, all allegedly Shiv Sainiks, who came and assaulted Sharma in his society compound.

A CCTV clip of the society posted by local Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Atul Bhatkalkar shows the attackers chasing Sharma, dragging him by the collar, pulling his shirt and attacking with no intervention from the society security personnel.

With red and swollen eyes, though Sharma apparently escaped serious injuries, he managed to reach home soon afterwards and then went to the police station to lodge a complaint, even as several BJP leaders slammed the government for the incident.

Besides Kadam, other known and unknown attackers have been charged under various sections of Indian Penal Code, including unlawful assembly and rioting, said Additional Commissioner of Police (North) Dilip Sawant.- IANS