Actress Ketaki Chitale Sent To 14-Day Judicial Custody For Derogatory Post Against Sharad Pawar

Marathi actress Ketaki Chitale has been sent to 14-day judicial custody by the Thane court in Maharashtra on Wednesday (May 18) after her police custody came to an end.

For the unversed, the actress was arrested on May 15 for allegedly trolling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar by posting a derogatory poem on her Facebook page. Multiple cases were registered against her at various police stations in Mumbai. The Thane Police had booked Chitale under IPC Sections 500 (defamation), 501 (printing or engraving defamatory matter) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups).

A tweet by Bar & Bench read, "Thane Court remands Marathi actor #ketakichitale to 14 day judicial custody in the case where she put alleged defamatory posts on social media against #NCP chief #SharadPawar."

After the Thane court remanded Ketaki to 14-day judicial custody, the officials of Goregaon Police Station in Mumbai sought the transit custody of Ketki from the court.

Further, another FIR has been lodged against her for allegedly misusing the name of Sant Tukaram in her objectionable post against the NCP leader. Nitin More, a member of the Warkari sect and an office-bearer of the Sant Tukaram Dehu Sansthan, has filed an FIR against Ketaki at the Dehuroad Police Station.

According to him, Ketaki's derogatory post against Pawar mentions the words "Tuka Mhane (Says Tukaram)" which is the naam mudra (signature) of Sant Tukaram and has claimed that it has hurt the sentiments of the Warkari community. The actress has been booked under Sections 295 (a), 153 (a) (1), and 501 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in this case.