A retired naval officer was beaten by the Shiv Sena workers in Mumbai for forwarding a cartoon mocking Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
The 65-year-old officer, Madan Sharma, was allegedly attacked near his home in Kandivali East, Mumbai.
In the images posted online, wounds on his face and a bloodshot eye can be seen.
An FIR (First Information Report) has been registered in the case.
In his complaint, Sharma said he had forwarded the cartoon to his residential society’s WhatsApp group. He later received a call from one Kamlesh Kadam, who asked his name and address. In the afternoon, he was called outside the building and was attacked by a group of men.
Security footage of the incident has been rapidly shared on the social networking platforms.
In the video, he is seen walking to the main gate of his apartment building and after a few moments, running back inside with a group of men chasing him.
The Shiv Sena workers drag him by his shirt and are seen punching him.
Reacting on the incident, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “Extremely sad and shocking incident. Retired Naval Officer got beaten up by goons because of just a WhatsApp forward. Please stop this GundaRaj Uddhav Thackeray ji. We demand strong action and punishment to these goons.”
“The ruling Shiv Sena which showed its masculinity by demolishing the office of actor Kangana Ranaut has now beaten a retired Navy officer and has injured his eye. The Chief Minister is running dictatorship from his house,” Atul Bhatkhalkar, BJP MLA from Mumbai’s Kandivali East constituency, tweeted in Hindi.
As per the reports, six people, including Kamlesh Kadam, has been arrested in the case.