FIR against Dhananjay Munde for remarks on cousin Pankaja Munde
Beed: An FIR has been lodged against NCP leader Dhananjay Munde for allegedly making obscene comments against his estranged cousin and Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde at an election rally, a police official said on Sunday.
The NCP leader, however, said the clip was edited and fake, and his remarks were "distorted" to project him as a "villain" by his rivals to win elections.
A video purportedly showing the NCP leader making the remarks against the minister went viral on social media, following which a BJP functionary from Parli in Beed district filed a police complaint against him on Saturday, he said.
Both the cousins are locked in a battle from Parli segment for Monday's state Assembly polls. Pankaja Munde, the sitting BJP MLA from Parli, is the daughter of late party veteran Gopinath Munde.
"Acting on the complaint filed by Parli BJP president Jugal Kishor Lohiya, the FIR was lodged late Saturday night against Dhananjay Munde under Indian Penal Code Sections 500 (defamation), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of a woman) and 294 (obscene act in public place)," Parli police station in-charge Purushottam Chobe told PTI.
Lohiya in his complaint said the NCP leader allegedly made the obscene remarks against the BJP minister at a public meeting held at Vida village in Kej tehsil on October 17.
The BJP has also complained to the Election Commission and the women's commission against the NCP leader's remarks. Some BJP workers also burnt his effigy at Shirur-Kasar tehsil here on Saturday night.
However, Dhananjay Munde said the clip was being circulated on social media by "distorting" his comments to "deliberately" defame him and project him as a "villain".
"My speech at Vida has been tampered with. This is clearly an attempt (by rivals) to make me a villain and win the elections," he said at a press conference here on Sunday.
"I have succeeded in politics on my own. I sacrificed Parli constituency for Pankaja Munde (apparently referring to 2009 when Gopinath Munde fielded his daughter)," he said.
The NCP leader pointed out that he spoke at Vida last Thursday and the clip went viral on Saturday.
"The complainant has not submitted any CD of my speech and neither the police verified it. We also tried to complain over this controversy, but the police didn't entertain it. But my speech in Vida is tampered and people who recently entered the BJP have made this attempt," he alleged.
"I have not taken the name of my sister, I have never used words which will hamper the brother-sister relationship.
This is an attempt to finish my political career. Our family has more number of female members...I will never make such comments which are below the dignity of women," he asserted.
Earlier in a statement on Facebook late Saturday night, he demanded that the authenticity of the "edited" clip be tested in a forensic laboratory.
Those who have "edited" the clip should at least respect the holy relationship of brother and sister, the leader of opposition in the state Legislative Council said.
The NCP leader said he is contesting the election only on the issue of development, and asked his detractors not to stoop low by giving an emotional twist to it.
"It is an edited clip, distorts my statement and deliberately defames me. The clip is completely fake and its authenticity must be tested in forensic lab."
He alleged that an emotional twist was being given to the election in the constituency as he has been receiving huge response from the people, causing fear of defeat in the minds of his rivals.
He also said he did not use bad words about any of his rivals, despite him being labelled as "monster".
"I did principle-based politics yesterday and doing it today. I have done 'kanyadaan' of my 1,500 sisters (girls). I will never use wrong words about any woman. Hence, workers and citizens should not believe in rumours," he added.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
