Man Arrested For Threatening NCP Chief Sharad Pawar On Social Media

The Mumbai Crime Branch has recently apprehended a 34-year-old man from Pune for allegedly issuing death threats to NCP chief Sharad Pawar through social media.

The accused identified as Sagar Barve is employed in an IT company, according to officials.

He was presented before a court and subsequently sent to judicial custody until June 13.

The police stated that the accused created 2 fake social media accounts to send death threats to the NCP leader.

Mumbai Police said that “Mumbai crime branch arrested a 34-year-old man from Pune in connection with a threat call to NCP chief Sharad Pawar. The accused has been identified as Sagar Barve. The police produced him in a court today where the court has sent him to police custody till Tuesday.”

The case pertains to alleged death threats directed at Sharad Pawar, with his daughter Supriya Sule claiming to have received a threatening message on WhatsApp on May 9. Sule denounced the threats as “low-level politics” and urged the Maharashtra Home Minister and Union Home Minister to take action, emphasizing that justice must be served.

Earlier this week, Sule told reporters, “I received a message on WhatsApp for Pawar Sahab. He was threatened through a website. So, I have come to the Police demanding justice. I urge Maharashtra Home Minister and Union Home Minister to act. Such actions represent low-level politics and should stop.”

She held the Centre and the State Home departments responsible if justice is not delivered in such cases.

Sule added that “The police have been informed. The Home Department also needs to intervene in this matter. Politics should be set aside in such cases.”

NCP leaders informed the police that Pawar received a message on Facebook, warning him that he would meet a fate similar to that of Narendra Dabholkar, a rationalist who was shot dead in 2013.

The Mumbai Police registered a case against two individuals under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 153(A), 504, and 506(2), in connection with the anonymous death threat to Pawar.

In response to the alleged threats, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde directed the police to enhance security for former Chief Minister Sharad Pawar.

Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis also expressed that despite ideological differences with the NCP, issuing threats to a prominent opposition leader would not be tolerated.