VADODARA: Police have arrested a man in Gujarat's Vadodara city for allegedly making objectionable comments on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, an official said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Aryan Patel, had an argument with a friend during which he made some objectionable comments on the 17th-century Maratha king, the official from Vadodara taluka police station said.
The remarks were captured in a mobile phone video recorded by a person and shared on social media, the police said.
An FIR was registered on Friday night and the accused was arrested on Saturday, police inspector AU Gohil said.
Complaint Deepak Palkar alleged the accused used foul language in public against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, thereby hurting the feelings of the Hindu community, according to the FIR.
The complainant said he received a video shared on WhatsApp in which the accused was heard making objectionable comments against Shivaji Maharaj in public.
The FIR was registered against the accused under Indian Penal Code Sections 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups and doing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony) and 294 (B) (uttering obscene words in a public place).
Born in 1630, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is a deeply revered figure in Maharashtra and remains a rallying point for all major political parties more than three centuries after his death.
