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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

YouTuber challenges FIR, LoC in HC

Mumbai : The Bombay High Court issued notice to the state government on a petition filed by UK-based medico and YouTuber, Dr. Sangram Patil, seeking to quash a Mumbai Police FIR and revoking a Look Out Circular in a criminal case lodged against him, on Thursday.   Justice Ashwin D. Bhobe, who heard the matter with preliminary submissions from both sides, sought a response from the state government and posted the matter for Feb. 4.   Maharashtra Advocate-General Milind Sathe informed the court...

YouTuber challenges FIR, LoC in HC

Mumbai : The Bombay High Court issued notice to the state government on a petition filed by UK-based medico and YouTuber, Dr. Sangram Patil, seeking to quash a Mumbai Police FIR and revoking a Look Out Circular in a criminal case lodged against him, on Thursday.   Justice Ashwin D. Bhobe, who heard the matter with preliminary submissions from both sides, sought a response from the state government and posted the matter for Feb. 4.   Maharashtra Advocate-General Milind Sathe informed the court that the state would file its reply within a week in the matter.   Indian-origin Dr. Patil, hailing from Jalgaon, is facing a criminal case here for posting allegedly objectionable content involving Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on social media.   After his posts on a FB page, ‘Shehar Vikas Aghadi’, a Mumbai BJP media cell functionary lodged a criminal complaint following which the NM Joshi Marg Police registered a FIR (Dec. 18, 2025) and subsequently issued a LoC against Dr. Patil, restricting his travels.   The complainant Nikhil Bhamre filed the complaint in December 2025, contending that Dr. Patil on Dec. 14 posted offensive content intended to spread ‘disinformation and falsehoods’ about the BJP and its leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.   Among others, the police invoked BNSS Sec. 353(2) that attracts a 3-year jail term for publishing or circulating statements or rumours through electronic media with intent to promote enmity or hatred between communities.   Based on the FIR, Dr. Patil was detained and questioned for 15 hours when he arrived with his wife from London at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (Jan. 10), and again prevented from returning to Manchester, UK on Jan. 19 in view of the ongoing investigations.   On Wednesday (Jan. 21) Dr. Patil recorded his statement before the Mumbai Police and now he has moved the high court. Besides seeking quashing of the FIR and the LoC, he has sought removal of his name from the database imposing restrictions on his international travels.   Through his Senior Advocate Sudeep Pasbola, the medico has sought interim relief in the form of a stay on further probe by Crime Branch-III and coercive action, restraint on filing any charge-sheet during the pendency of the petition and permission to go back to the UK.   Pasbola submitted to the court that Dr. Patil had voluntarily travelled from the UK to India and was unaware of the FIR when he landed here. Sathe argued that Patil had appeared in connection with other posts and was not fully cooperating with the investigators.

Pawar’s Muslim Diplomacy

Updated: Nov 18, 2024

The NCP (SP) is banking on its Muslim faces to consolidate the community’s votes

Pawar’s Muslim Diplomacy

Mumbai: Last month when Fahad Ahmad’s name was announced by the NCP (SP) as its candidate from Anushaktinagar, it brought a sprinkling of stardust to the elections; Ahmad is known to most as actor Swara Bhaskar’s husband. The outspoken neta of the Samajwadi Party was now suddenly in the NCP (SP). He was the party’s best bet to counter Sana Malik who is fielded by Ajit Pawar’s NCP.


Sharad Pawar’s choice of candidates shows that he is putting faith in the party’s young faces, including young Muslim faces that can appeal to the electorate from the community. Anish Gawande, national spokesperson of the NCP (SP) had earlier stated that the party had declared that it would give a chance to new faces. “These young faces are a reflection of our society and what people want—these candidates are young, dynamic and agile,” he says.


According to the 2011 census, Maharashtra has 1.30 crore Muslims who account for around 11 per cent of the population. The party, as a leader says, does not want to be anathema to any community or religion and hence, wants representation of most. “Muslim will not pick BJP or its allies as their natural choice. Our party stands to gain from this consolidation of votes,” says a party leader.


It helps that most of the Muslim faces are relatively young. If Fahad is in Mumbai, Mahebub Shaikh is the state president of the youth wing of the party. He was a fiery voice during the recent Shivswarajya Yatra and is the party’s candidate from Ashti in Beed, the region that is facing intense quota unrest and is likely to go against the Mahayuti alliance.


The value of these leaders is evident from what Babajani Durrani said while returning to Sharad Pawar after a stint with Ajit Pawar’s NCP. “During the Lok Sabha elections, we saw that Muslims and Dalits did not vote for us only because we are in alliance with BJP, Shinde Sena. For the last ten years, despite India being a robust democracy, Muslims are being targeted,” the Parbhani leader had said when he returned to the party.


The NCP (SP) realises that it now stands to gain the Muslim and Dalit vote which is unlikely to go to Ajit Pawar ever since he forged an alliance with the BJP. An NCP (SP) leader explains that the party is banking on the MADHAV combination of Marathas, Dhangars, Vanjaris along with Muslims and Dalits to consolidate its votes. At such a time, having prominent Muslim leaders gives the community confidence that the party will work for its interests. “We also need to find a replacement for someone like Nawab Mallik and these young faces have a longer career ahead of them,” says the party leader.

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