Shiv Sena cartoon row: FIR against Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut after Saamana mocks Maratha agitation

As the controversy around a cartoon published in Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece Saamana gathered dust, advocate Vishnu Navale filed an FIR against Shiv Sena chief and editor of Saamana Uddhav Thackeray, executive editor Sanjay Raut, cartoonist Ravindra Prabhudesai and printer and publisher Rajendra Bhagwat. The case was filed in Nanal peth police station, Parbhani, Marathwada region, under IPC Sections 153 A, 292, 505, 500, and 109, sources told Firstpost. [caption id=“attachment_3024566” align=“alignnone” width=“632”]  FIR filed by advocate Vishnu Navale. Image procured by Sanjay Sawant of Firstpost[/caption] The cartoon, which was first published in Saamana on Sunday, drew immense flak from senior Shiv Sena leaders, political parties and even ally BJP. The cartoon alludes to the ‘silent march’ being taken out by the Maratha community. Shiv Sena has largely kept mum on the ongoing agitation, but the cartoon puts party in the back foot. DNA earlier reported that following the publishing of the cartoon, Bhaskarrao Bhange from Marathwada, Ravi Raj (corporator) from Dhule and Ashok Khedkar from Buldhana have submitted their resignations to the Sena chief. On Tuesday, enraged by the incident, a pro-Maratha social organisation, ‘Sambhaji Brigade’, stoned the Saamana office in Navi Mumbai. Condemning the cartoon, the organisation’s spokesperson Shivanand Bhanuse told PTI, “We are condemning a cartoon which was published in Saamana. Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray and Saamana’s executive editor Sanjay Raut must apologise to the women of Maharashtra.” “The attack was spontaneous and an expression of emotions of the Maratha community,” he said. On Sunday, a cartoon on “silent march” was published in Saamana, which drew criticism from various political quarters. The Marathas have been organising silent marches across the state following the Kopardi rape and murder incident, in which the victim was a member from the community. Some more such rallies are also planned in the state in the coming days. With inputs from PTI