Two FIRs against NCP leader Jitendra Awhad in 72 hours: What led to senior leader's resignation?

NCP state president Jayant Patil indirectly indicated that the allegations against Awhad are due to political rivalry.

Pic Credit: File Photo

NEW DELHI: NCP's senior leader Jitendra Awhad resigned from his position as MLA on Monday (Nov 14) after an FIR was filed against him on Sunday night for molesting a BJP leader at the inauguration of the Kawla-Khadi bridge in Maharashtra. The NCP state president Jayant Patil has strongly come out in support of Jitendra Awhad. He alleged that the case is a conspiracy by the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena coalition to malign the senior NCP leader's image. A video of the incident in question has gone viral on social media as several political leaders and advocates shared their opinions on it. 

On Sunday night, Jitendra Awhad also tweeted about the case saying, "Police registered 2 false cases against me in 72 hours and that too 354. I will fight against this police brutality … I decide to resign from my MLA. The killing of democracy.. cannot be seen with naked eyes."

पोलीसांनी माझ्या विरुद्ध ७२ तासात २ खोटा गुन्हा दाखल केला आणि तोही ३५४ ,.,
मी ह्या पोलिसी आत्याचारा विरुद्ध लढणार … मी माझ्या आमदारकीचा राजीनामा देण्याचा निर्णय घेतो आहे,,. लोकशाहीची हत्या .. उघड्या डोळ्यांनी नाही बघू शकत — Dr.Jitendra Awhad (@Awhadspeaks) November 14, 2022

Patil and Awhad held a joint press conference regarding the event and presented their version of the event. 

NCP leader molestation case: Here is what happened

Over the weekend, the Y junction flyover was inaugurated in Mumbra which was attended by several political leaders including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. NCP leader Jitendra Awhad also attended the event. In a video from the event, Awhad was seen moving past a crowd and had pushed a woman out of his way with his hand. The woman in the video was Rida Rashid, a BJP leader. She had filed a complaint against Jitendra Awad for molestation. According to Rashid, the NCP leader had touched her with a specific ‘intent’.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

भाजपच्या काही अक्करमाशा आणि काही नावा पुरतं ॲडव्होकेट लावणाऱ्या नेत्यांनी हा व्हिडीओ पहा आणि त्याच बरोबर ३५४ ची व्याख्याही वाचा. Intent शब्दाचा मराठी अर्थ 'हेतू' होतो. व्हिडीओत @Awhadspeaks यांचा हेतू विनयभंग करण्याचा आहे की गर्दितून त्या ताईंना बाजुला करण्याचा? तुम्हीच ठरवा ! pic.twitter.com/38xk7Ni5Uy — Adv.Jayesh Wani - अ‍ॅड.जयेश वाणी (@jayeshwani) November 14, 2022

As a counterclaim to her allegations, Jayant Patil said that – how can someone commit an act of molestation when CM Eknath Shinde is sitting in the car and there are so many people around.

The woman filed the complaint at the Mumbra police station. Jayant Patil said that Rida had met Shinde and indicated that there was a plot hatched against the NCP leader by the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena government.

Second case against NCP's Awhad

A case under IPC section 354 has been registered against Awad in the Mumbra police station as per reports. With such serious allegations hanging over his head, Jitendra Awad submitted his resignation to the NCP state president Jayant Patil. Jitendra, while speaking to reporters in Thane, expressed that he was emotionally disturbed due to the allegations which disturbed not only his public life but his private life as well.

NCP's Jitendra Awhad reacts

Jitendra Awhad said, "I accept all the crimes 307, 323, 323 have been committed by me and can be committed by me. But, the offense of molestation like 354 is invalid, which I have never committed in my life. How did the police register this crime? The words used by the woman in the FIR are clearly heard in the video. It can be a part of the conspiracy to file a case in such a way that I will go down in society.”

Speaking further about the allegations, he said, “My daughter was asked by her friend, 'Did your father molest you?' If there was a conspiracy to murder me, it would have been unthinkable. But, Article 354 came to mind. I was not born for 354 and 376. Aggression is not new in politics. Low-level politics should not happen in Maharashtra.” There has been a great furore over the molestation charges against the NCP MLA. 

Har Har Mahadev case

Along with the molestation case, another case had been filed against the NCP leader in the past 3 days. The charges against him were rioting, and voluntarily causing hurt. On Friday, Awhad was arrested by Thane police for allegedly stopping the screening of the Marathi film 'Har Har Mahadev' which was taking place at Viviana mall in Thane. Jitendra alleged that the movie portrayed Maratha's history in a 'distorted' light.