Sambhaji Brigade founding member Pravin Gaikwad was manhandled and ink was hurled on him allegedly by activists of an organisation over his reported remarks on Swami Samarth in Akkalkot village in Solapur district on Sunday, police said. Gaikwad alleged that he was targeted over his "progressive thoughts" by followers of Hindutva ideology. A viral video shows Gaikwad being pulled out of his car and manhandled by a group of people in the afternoon. While Gaikwad was in his car, Shivdharm Foundation supporters staged protests, threw black ink on him and also tried to vandalise his car.
Gaikwad had come to Akkalkot, widely known for its association with Swami Samarth who is believed to be a reincarnation of Shree Dattatreya, to attend a felicitation ceremony organised by an educational institute and Sakal Maratha Samaj. The protesters also objected to Gaikwad's terming Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj as 'Sambhaji'. They demanded that the Sambhaji Brigade be renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Brigade.
Police booked Deepak Kate and six other members of Shivdharm Foundation under sections 115 (2), 189, 190, and 191 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) for rioting and detained them. They were later allowed to go after the police served them notices.
Gaikwad alleged it was an attempt to kill him for his "progressive thoughts". "I had gone to Akkalkot and suddenly members of the Shiv Dharma Foundation smeared black, sticky oil on me. They attacked me and tried to kill me. You may recall the murders of Dr Pansare, Kalburgi, Dr Dabholkar and Gauri Lankesh. In the current regime, activists with progressive thoughts are unsafe," he alleged while talking to reporters.
"Sometimes there are attempts to break political parties. Then there are attempts to divide activists. When all such attempts fail, such attacks are carried out. We work with an ideology rooted in truth. Our thinking is aligned with the Constitution," Gaikwad added.
The Sambhaji Brigade is working for humanity but, unfortunately, some misconceptions are spread about social organisations, following which those claiming to follow the Hindutva ideology carry out such attacks, he claimed.
Sambhaji Brigade, a Maratha outfit, is named after Chatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, son of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It had gained exposure in 2004 for allegedly attacking and vandalising the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune, claiming that it helped American scholar James Laine’s book on Shivaji Maharaj, certain parts of which were unacceptable to them.
"Ideological opposition should be expressed through ideas. This path of violence is highly condemnable and deplorable," NCP (SP) MP Amol Kolhe said. His colleague and MLA Jitendra Awhad offered support to Gaikwad by calling him a "champion of progressive thoughts" and "a fighter".