Maharashtra police files case against Tanushree for comments against MNS chief
Mumbai, Oct 4 : A defamation case has been filed against Bollywood actor Tanushree Dutta for her comments about Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, police said on Thursday.
The case was filed by the Kaij police in Maharashtra's Beed district on Wednesday evening after MNS district unit president Sumant Dhas lodged a complaint, alleging that Dutta had defamed his party chief, a police officer said.
"We have registered a non-cognisable offence against Dutta under Section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code and are investigating the complaint. We have also asked the complainant to approach court," the officer said.
Dutta, 34, who has accused actor Nana Patekar of harassing her on the sets of a film in 2008, recently said Raj Thackeray wanted to succeed late Bal Thackeray as the Shiv Sena chief, but could not do so.
She had also alleged that the MNS was involved in vandalising her vehicle when she opted out of the 2008 film, 'Horn Ok Pleassss'.
Dutta also alleged that she had been getting threats from the MNS, adding that two persons recently tried to barge into her home.
The MNS youth wing, meanwhile, handed over a letter to the makers of the 'Bigg Boss' on Wednesday, following reports of Dutta participating in the ongoing season of the TV reality show, a party functionary told PTI.
The party workers threatened violence on the set in Lonavla if she was let in.
Maharashtra minister Deepak Kesarkar had backed Patekar on Wednesday, saying he was an "illustrious personality" who has done tremendous work for the state and questioned the veracity of Dutta's claims.
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Baramati plane crash: Rohit Pawar alleges attempts to shield VSR Ventures
Mumbai (PTI): NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Wednesday alleged that someone was trying to save VSR Ventures in connection with the plane crash that killed Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, and claimed that the AAIB preliminary probe vindicated the doubts earlier raised by him.
He also accused VSR company of indulging in several grave lapses in the past.
The Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures, crashed near the Baramati air strip in Pune district on January 28, killing Pawar and four others.
In its 22-page preliminary report on the VSR Venture's Learjet plane crash, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said the visibility at the time of the crash was below the required level. It also flagged about fading marks on the runway and presence of loose gravels on the runway surface.
Pawar said, "I am not against VSR or the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Ajitdada was travelling in a VSR aircraft. Unless we go into the depth of every aspect, we will not know the truth. But someone is trying to save this company. The doubts we had raised have been proven correct in the inquiry report."
He also claimed that the AAIB report contained discrepancies, including mentioning Baramati as a district, and questioned how seriously the probe had been conducted.
Pawar, who has been regularly holding press conferences to raise issues concerning the Baramati plane crash, also contested the report's conclusion that the aircraft hit trees before crashing.
"The report says the aircraft struck trees and then fell. But there are no trees at that spot. There is only a small bush which the aircraft did not even touch. What is stated in the report about hitting trees is incorrect," he said.
Pawar further alleged that VSR Ventures had displayed irresponsibility on multiple occasions, citing an incident involving the then chief minister Eknath Shinde's Davos visit on January 20, 2023.
He claimed that the aircraft carrying Shinde had entered Iranian and Iraqi airspace without overflight permission, following which fighter jets from the two countries allegedly warned of action, forcing a change in route from Bahrain to Zurich.
"There have been several such grave lapses by VSR," he said.
Pawar demanded to know from where VSR Ventures derived its "audacity", and sought details about its investors and officials, though he added that he was not personally concerned with who they were.
Drawing a comparison, he said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had taken over the probe into actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death within two days, whereas a month had passed since the Baramati crash without a similar action.
He claimed that VSR Ventures had two directors and three shareholders, and that there were eight common names across two related companies.
He further alleged that the owner of VSR was related to the Union Civil Aviation Minister and questioned why the company, though registered in Delhi, had made high-value investments in Jubilee Hills (upscale area in Hyderabad) at rates allegedly Rs 17 crore above the market price.
The MLA representing the Karjat-Jamkhed assembly constituency in Ahilyanagar district also raised concerns about the legal and institutional framework of the AAIB under the 2017 rules, claiming it was neither a statutory nor an autonomous body and remained answerable to the secretary and the minister, besides being attached to the DGCA.
"There is no independent investigative agency," he alleged.
