NCP leader Jitendra Awhad, 100 others booked for vandalism; stopped the screening of a Marathi film

Jitendra Awhad, a former State Housing Minister, and 100 of his employees were been charged with vandalism after they forcibly interrupted the Monday night showing of the Marathi movie "Har Har Mahadev" at a cinema in Thane's Viviana Mall. The NCP MLA claimed that in order to generate political hysteria, the movie misrepresented Chhatrapati Shivaji's history. They have been charged under Sections 141, 143, 146, 149, 323, 504 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 37/135 of the Mumbai Police Act after the Vartak Nagar Police received a complaint from a man named Vijay Dhurve, according to a story in the local media.

 

A video of the leader and his team fighting with the audience during the performance is going viral on social media. In the footage, a mob is seen charging at the movie. Jitendra Awhad then steps in and the two argue before the man and his daughter are led out of the theatre. Awhad is shown in another video physically abusing the victim before having him removed from the theatre. In a later interview with the media, Awhad said that Shivaji Maharaj was depicted dozing off on a bench while Afzal Khan stabbed him. He also claimed that his connection with Bajiprabhu Deshpande was disparaged.

 

Awhad asserted that historical revisionism must be resisted since movies have an impact on viewers. According to a Hindustan Times report, he declared that despite respecting people's right to free speech, he would not permit history to be changed. The Thane-Palghar District Chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Avinash Jadhav, reportedly came at the multiplex shortly after NCP employees left and asked to restart the show. He was reported in HT as saying that it is improper to treat the audience improperly after they have paid to see a movie. He suggested that the police should take the accused into custody. He said that he would stay for the entire screening and challenged anyone to end it.

 

 

Image Courtesy: Twitter @Awhadspeaks