AMN / MUMBAI
A person has been arrested from Bengaluru for threatening Shiv Sena leader and state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray on WhatsApp. Maharashtra home minister Dilip Walse Patil Walse Patil said that one Jaisingh Bajrang Rajput had been arrested from Bengaluru by a Mumbai Police team for threatening Aaditya and had been brought to Mumbai. “Considering the sentiments and complaints of the members… whether it is a member of this house, or a common man, their life and security are important. A state level SIT will be appointed to study this issue and probe the incidents of threats and suggest measures for the future,” he added.
A senior police officer from Mumbai police said Rajput, 34, was watching movies of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput on December 17. After watching the films, he searched and found Aditya’s mobile number. He called the minister, but did not get a response. Rajput then allegedly sent a message on WhatsApp threatening the minister, the officer added.
The officer said Rajput, who has studied up to Class 10, was arrested on December 18 and brought to Mumbai, and was produced before a metropolitan magistrate court at Bandra and was remanded to police custody till Thursday, December 23. On Thursday, the court remanded him to judicial custody.
Senior police officers did not divulge any more information.
Shiv Sena MLA Sunil Prabhu raised the issue in the legislative assembly and said there was a Karnataka connection in the murders of social activists Dr Narendra Dabholkar (killed in Pune in August 2013), Govind Pansare (attacked in Kolhapur on February 16, 2015; he died in Mumbai four days later) and Gauri Lankesh (killed in September 2017 in Bengaluru), and asked if this was happening because it was a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled state.