Today, On 17th July, Seven FIRs filed against NCP’s Jitendra Awhad for his remarks about Lord Ram will be consolidated at Shirdi. The FIRs registered in Maharashtra after Awhad made the controversial remarks during a meeting of NCP (SP) workers in Shirdi earlier this year.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra police informed the Bombay High Court on Thursday that all seven FIRs filed against NCP (Sharad Pawar) MLA and former Maharashtra cabinet minister Jitendra Awhad, following his controversial remark that Lord Ram was a non-vegetarian, will be consolidated and investigated at the Shirdi police station.
Additional Public Prosecutor KV Saste explained that since the alleged offense occurred in Shirdi, all related cases from across the state would be transferred there. Consequently, the investigation and trial against Awhad will proceed in Shirdi.
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Awhad, a resident of Thane, had his advocates, Vinod Utekar and Sagar Joshi, request the transfer of the FIRs to either Vartak Nagar Police Station or Navghar Police Station in Thane instead of Shirdi. They also noted that the first FIR lodged in Andheri, Mumbai, suggesting it could be transferred there.
However, Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Arun Pednekar stated that it is the investigators’ prerogative to determine the appropriate location for clubbing and investigating the cases.
During the hearing, although Saste requested the court to issue an order consolidating the FIRs, the bench indicated that such a statement should come from the prosecution. Eventually, a Special Inspector General of Police made the statement confirming the consolidation.
All seven FIRs filed in Maharashtra in response to Awhad’s remark made at an NCP (SP) workers’ meeting in Shirdi earlier this year. The FIRs include two in Mumbai, one in Shirdi, one in Pune, one in Thane city, one in Thane rural, and one in Yavatmal.
The FIRs filed under Section 295A, which pertains to actions intended to deliberately and maliciously outrage the religious feelings of any class of people through words (spoken or written), signs, visible representations, or other means that insult or attempt to insult their religion or religious beliefs.
These FIRs, some lodged by BJP members, initiated around the time of the Ram idol consecration ceremony scheduled for January this year. BJP MLA Ram Kadam called for a one-day ban on alcohol and meat during the Ayodhya consecration ceremony on January 22.
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In response, Awhad, addressing NCP workers, declared that Lord Ram belonged to the Bahujans, stating,
“Ram is ours. Ram belongs to the Bahujans. Ram, who hunts and eats, is ours; we belong to the Bahujans. When you people go to make us all vegetarian, we follow the ideals of Ram, and today we eat mutton. This is the ideal of Ram. Ram was not a vegetarian; he was a non-vegetarian.”
Awhad also questioned the availability of vegetarian food for someone living in the forest for 14 years. Despite the controversy surrounding his remarks, Awhad clarified that his speech was based on research and apologized if anyone was offended. Nonetheless, FIRs were registered across the state despite his apology the following day.