A day after Republic Party of India (RPI) president Ramdas Athawale was slapped by a man at an event in Ambernath, police confirmed that the accused Pravin Gosavi, 30, has posted angry comments against the leader on Facebook.
A senior police inspector from Thane commissionerate said, “We checked Gosavi’s Facebook profile and it was found that when he was with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena [MNS] he had passed derogatory comments against the party. This time, he was posting comments against Ramdas Athawle and in some comments he mentioned that he was angry with the president and not the party. He mentioned that Athawale had not done anything good for their community.”
Responding to the attack on him at a public function in Ambernath in Thane district on Saturday, Athawale said that the incident highlighted inadequate security. The Union minister said he plans to meet Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis regarding the failure of the state administration to provide him with adequate police cover.
“Lack of security personnel led to the incident. The attacker got access to me. I think my popularity is growing and some people cannot handle it,” Athawale said. The minister added that he does not think that it was a conspiracy, but demanded an investigation into the incident.
{{/usCountry}}“Lack of security personnel led to the incident. The attacker got access to me. I think my popularity is growing and some people cannot handle it,” Athawale said. The minister added that he does not think that it was a conspiracy, but demanded an investigation into the incident.
{{/usCountry}}Despite Athawale’s appeal to his supporters to maintain law and order, scattered incidents of roadblocks created and rail-roko by RPI were reported at Thane-Mulund toll naka, Dahisar toll naka and Nashik. Protests were also held in Bandra, Worli. Supporters called for a bandh which was observed at Ulhasnagar, Ambernath, Vasind, parts of Kalyan and Dombivli, Karjat, and Kasara.
(With inputs from Arvind Walmiki)