Three First Information Reports (FIRs) have been lodged against NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad for his controversial statement suggesting that "Lord Ram was a non-vegetarian" in Mumbai and Palghar districts, officials revealed on Saturday.
While two cases were registered by the Mumbai police, another case was filed at Navghar police station in Thane district. Prior to these, Pune city police had initiated an FIR against Awhad, a member of the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party.
As of now, the former Maharashtra minister has not been arrested.
"A case was registered against Awhad at MIDC police station on Friday night based on a complaint lodged by Gautam Ravriya, an office-bearer of the Vishva Hindu Parishad. The complainant stated that he heard Awhad making objectionable remarks against Lord Ram on a news channel," reportedly explained a police official.
The case was filed under Indian Penal Code section 295 (A) which deals with deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
Simultaneously, an FIR with similar charges was registered at Ghatkopar police station on Saturday based on a complaint lodged by local BJP MLA Ram Kadam.
Furthermore, another FIR was initiated at Navghar police station in Thane under the same section, filed by a local businessman.
Awhad, who represents the Mumbra-Kalwa assembly constituency in Thane district, stirred controversy with his remarks on January 3.
"Lord Ram used to hunt and eat. He is ours, of bahujans. You (an apparent reference to the BJP) are turning us into vegetarians, (but) we are following the example of Ram and consuming mutton," he stated at an NCP conclave in Shirdi.
The term 'bahujan' is used to denote the non-Brahmin sections of society in Maharashtra.
Despite later expressing regret over his remarks, Awhad did not withdraw them. In Pune, the FIR against Awhad was registered based on a complaint lodged by the Bharatiya Janata Party's city unit chief Dhiraj Ghate.
