Madan Sharma, the retired Navy officer who was beaten up allegedly by Shiv Sena workers in Mumbai a few days ago after he shared a forwarded post with cartoon of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on WhatsApp, met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan on Tuesday. Following his meeting with the Maharashtra Governor, Madan Sharma said he was accused of being affiliated to BJP-RSS when he was thrashed by the goons, so from now on he is with the BJP and RSS.
"From now on, I am with BJP-RSS. When I was beaten up, they had levelled allegations that I'm with BJP-RSS. So now I announce, that I am with BJP-RSS today onward," Madan Sharma said.
Meanwhile, in a crucial development, Mumbai Police on Tuesday re-arrested 6 Shiv Sainiks who allegedly attacked a retired Madan Sharma days back leading to major outcry, officials said. They were produced before a Borivali magistrate court and remanded to 14 days' judicial custody.
Those arrested include: Kamlesh Kadam and Sanjay Manjare, both Shakha Pramukhs, besides activists Pratap Vera, Sunil Desai, Rakesh Mulik and Rakesh Belnekar.
The arrests by Samata Nagar police came after additional charges were invoked against them under Indian Penal Code Section 452 pertaining to house trespassing after preparation of assault, hurt and wrongful restraint in the first information report (FIR).
On September 11, Sharma, a former Chief Petty Officer had forwarded a cartoon depicting Shiv Sena President and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
The forwarded WhatsApp message found its way to Kadam and others. The Sena men then stormed Sharma's house in Kandivali east and called him down in the society complex and assaulted him.
The issue snowballed into a political row with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh calling up the 65-year old Sharma and ex-servicemen protesting in New Delhi and other parts of India to protest the assault.
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