Palghar, May 4: A man was beaten up by locals and arrested in Maharashtra's Palghar district after he allegedly made objectionable remarks against Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on a WhatsApp group, police said on Sunday. The accused, Akshaydeep Bharatkumar Visawadiya, was beaten up at a housing society in the Vijay Nagar area of Nalasopara East on April 28, an official said. Solapur Shocker: 9-Month Pregnant Woman Dies by Suicide at Home in Maharashtra; ‘Forgive Me, I Have No Good Qualities’ Reads Her Suicide Note.

According to the police, there was a heated discussion on a WhatsApp group about Gujarati and Marathi identities, during which the accused allegedly made derogatory statements about Shivaji Maharaj. Outraged by the remarks, a group of residents confronted Visawadiya, allegedly assaulted him, and handed him over to the police, the official said. A video of the man being beaten up has surfaced on social media. Palghar Shocker: Class 4 Girls Hospitalised After Sit-Up Punishment for Not Doing Homework.

Based on a complaint, the police registered a first information report against Visawadiya under sections 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 356(2) (defamation), and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)