Journalist Nikhil Wagle’s car was allegedly attacked by BJP workers while he was travelling to attend an event in Pune on Friday.
Videos showed the car’s windscreen and side panes getting damaged by the BJP workers who mobbed the vehicle and also threw ink on it.
The BJP workers were protesting against Wagle for his remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and LK Advani after the ruling party patriarch was awarded the Bharat Ratna.
The incident was followed by a brief altercation between opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) workers and the BJP activists before the police intervened.
Later at the venue, Wagle delivered his speech saying, “I forgive all those who attacked me. I have been attacked six times earlier and this was the seventh.”
“From Shivaji Maharaj to Shahuji Maharaj to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, everything is our tradition. We have a tradition of saints,” he said.
Wagle also asked the audience to vote for MVA in Maharashtra in the upcoming elections.
Earlier in the day, a case was registered against Wagle by BJP leader Sunil Deodhar for allegedly making offensive remarks against the PM and Advani.
“Nikhil Wagle has been booked under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 500 (defamation) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Vishrambaug police station. We are probing the matter further,” news agency PTI reported.
Reacting to the incident, Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction leader Supriya Sule said, “Strongly condemn the attack on Nikhil Wagle, a voice of truth and a beacon of journalism. This is not just an assault on an individual but an attack on freedom of speech itself. The deteriorating law and order situation in Maharashtra under the BJP regime that is tacitly enabling such acts is alarming and warrants strictest accountability.”