From plans to hurl footwear at Sanjay Dutt and an attack on a news channel’s office to the Mohsin Shaikh case, Dhananjay Desai and his outfit Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS) have made the news several times over the years.
On Friday, Desai — who is in his early forties and known in Hindutva circles as Bhai — was again in the limelight again after a court in Pune acquitted him and 19 others in connection with the murder of IT professional Mohsin Shaikh. The 28-year-old was killed on June 2, 2014, during communal clashes that erupted after objectionable pictures of Chhatrapati Shivaji and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray were shared on social media.
The Pune City police arrested Desai, who is from Mumbai, a few days after Shaikh’s murder. After five years in prison, he walked out on bail in February 2019 and has been living in Pune district’s Paud area for the past few years. He participated in a “Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha” in Pune city as recently as January 22.
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Hindu right-wing organisations across Maharashtra have been organising these public gatherings since November 2022 to protest against the alleged rise in cases of “love jihad” — a term used by right-wing activists to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage — in the state.
Following the court order, Desai said it was a defeat of “Rajakiya Jihad (political jihad)”. He told reporters at a press conference, “There was no evidence against us. Still, instead of arresting the real killers of Mohsin, we were falsely implicated in this case just because some elements wanted to frame us.”
Desai said he would remain active in politics. “I am not looking towards any political party. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are doing good work,” he said, adding that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was the “real follower of Bal Thackeray.”
Accused in several cases
Desai set up the Hindu Rashtra Sena about two decades ago and it was later registered as a political organisation.
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The outfit first came to the limelight in April 2007 after it attacked the Star News office in Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi area for airing a story on a minor Hindu girl wanting to marry a 23-year-old Muslim man.
In May 2013, HRS workers were booked for protesting outside Sanjay Dutt’s home in Mumbai. The outfit alleged that the actor was being accorded VIP treatment even after his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. Dutt was an inmate of the Yerwada Central Prison.
That September, the HRS again made news for its plan to hurl footwear at Dutt during a cultural programme organised by the prison department at the Balgandharva auditorium in Pune. The event was cancelled because of the threat of violence. But the HRS still created a ruckus at the spot and a case was registered against the outfit.
A year later, in March, the police booked Desai and HRS members for allegedly distributing pamphlets with objectionable content that could hurt religious sentiments.
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Over the years, Desai has shared the stage with Hindu right-wing leaders, including Pramod Muthalik of the Shri Ram Sene. In 2013, he was the chief guest at the launch of a book authored by Sanatan Sanstha activist Vikram Bhave who is a convict in the Thane auditorium blast case. The HRS has expressed support for 2008 Malegaon blast case accused Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya, who is the Bhopal MP at present.
According to police records, before Mohsin Shaikh’s murder, Desai was named in about 23 cases in which he was charged with offences such as illegal possession of firearms, extortion, and rioting. Asked about these cases, Desai said, “I was acquitted in these cases. Offences against me were regarding Hindutva agitations. We will continue to work for the cause of Hindutva, against the Islamic aggression, ‘love jihad’, and conversions by Christian missionaries.”
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