Pune man arrested for circulating Appasaheb Dharmadhikari’s forged letter on social media

A 24-year-old man from Pune was arrested on Monday for allegedly circulating a forged letter of Appasaheb Dharmadhikari on social media, which condemned the mismanagement at the Kharghar event where 14 people died of a heatstroke and dehydration

A 24-year-old man from Pune was arrested on Monday for allegedly circulating a forged letter of Appasaheb Dharmadhikari on social media, which condemned the mismanagement at the Kharghar event where 14 people died of a heatstroke and dehydration.

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The accused, whose identity the police have not disclosed due to the sensitivity of the matter, is a B Com graduate and he worked with a charted accountant as assistant. But HT has learnt that he belongs to a Pune right-wing group notorious for its aggressive protests.

The letter, purportedly written by Dharmadhikari, said he did not need the award but was compelled to accept it. “My followers were used for political mileage and the state government’s mismanagement at the event claimed several lives due to a heatstroke. The organisers did not even put up any canopy for my followers who had to sit in the scorching heat on the open ground. I had said that the event be held in the afternoon, but they should have made the necessary arrangements. I take responsibility for the unfortunate event and apologise to my devotees. No one should henceforth vote for the BJP or the Eknah Shinde group,” it said.

On Saturday, a complaint was filed by a devotee of Dharmadhikari at Revdanda police station in Raigad district.

“The accused was arrested, and a court sent him to one-day police custody. He had posted the fake letter on a Facebook group of Appasaheb Dharmadhikari’s fans,” police inspector Dayanand Gawade from local crime branch said.

According to the police, the motive of the accused is still not known.

Raigad superintendent of police Somnath Gharge said, “He had also forwarded it on WhatsApp. The accused claimed that he had randomly forwarded the letter to others after receiving it from someone. He is not the original creator of the fake letter.”

The accused has been charged with sections 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 500 (punishment for defamation), 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory), and 505 (2) and (3) (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the IT Act.