Pune: Noted Marathi playwright’s statue vandalised in Sambhaji Park, 4 held

The Sambhaji Brigade, which claimed responsibility for the alleged vandalism on social media, said that after removing the writer’s bust from the garden maintained by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), its workers threw it in a river. The outfit had registered itself as a political party in December and will pitch its candidates for the upcoming civic polls.

Sambhaji Brigade, the group named after Chhatrapati Sambhaji, the 17th century Maratha king and son of Chhatrapati Shivaji, had gained notoriety in 2004 when its workers had vandalised the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) in Pune. Officer -bearers of the organisation said that the act on Tuesday was to show their opposition to references about Chhatrapati Sambhaji in Gadkari’s play Raj Sanyas.

“We were seeking removal of the bust from the Sambhaji Garden and had done necessary correspondence with Pune Municipal Corporation. However, they paid no heed to the demand, prompting our workers to storm the garden and remove the bust,” said Sambhaji Brigade leader Santosh Shinde.

“It is quite ironical that the bust was installed in the garden, which was named after Sambhaji Raje. Such insult and defamation of Sambhaji Raje will not be tolerated,” he said.

Shinde added, “Our workers will face all the legal action taken against them by police, and we will help them in the legal fight.” Meanwhile, the dispute for credit arose around Tuesday afternoon, when Congress MLA Nitesh Rane, who is son of Congress leader Narayan Rane, tweeted that those who removed the bust were not members of Sambhaji Brigade. Police have identified the four youths as Pradeep Kanase, Harshwardhan Magdum, Swapnil Kale and Ganesh Karle.

Sambhaji Brigade office bearers said that Kanase is their student wing head while Magdum is the head of their Haveli unit. Two others are their friends.

Senior inspector Ajay Kadam of Deccan Gymkhana police station, said, “A First Information Report has been registered against four persons, who have been arrested. Two of the four persons are members of Sambhaji Brigade. All have been booked under charges of theft and defacing the public property.”

Kadam added that there was only one security guard on duty at the park when the incident took place. The posts on social media said that the bust was thrown into adjacent Mutha river after being removed. Police have launched a search for the bust.

It may be recalled that the workers of the organisation had vandalised premises of BORI over the book Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India by American scholar James Laine.

Asked if the act is politically motivated, Shinde said, “We have entered politics recently but we have been raising our voices on such issues since long.”

Gadkari, who is known for works like Ekach Pyala and Prem Sanyas, has written poetry with pen name Govindagraj and satire with a pen name Balakram.

Gadkari’s bust was installed at the park in January 1962 by Marathi writer Pralhad Keshav Atre. Meanwhile, Pune Mayor Prashant Jagtap said, “We strongly condemn the act and feel that it is an act to create a divide in the society.” The civic general body meet of the Pune Municipal Corporation has passed a resolution to re-install the statue of Gadkari at the same spot.