Prashant Koratkar arrested in Telangana over remarks against Shivaji Maharaj

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Monday told the Bombay High Court that it had arrested former journalist Prashant Koratkar after he was booked over alleged objectionable remarks against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Informing a single-judge bench of Justice Rajesh S Patil that Prashant Koratkar was arrested in Telangana, Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar said Koratkar’s anticipatory bail plea would be ‘infructuous’, The Indian Express reported.

After the Kolhapur sessions court rejected his bail plea earlier, Koratkar approached the high court; however the court disposed of his pre-arrest bail plea alongside allowing him liberty to file an appropriate bail plea later.

The Kolhapur police booked him on February 25 after he was accused of a threat call to historian Indrajit Sawant based on an audio conversation he had with the historian.

Koratkar reportedly used abusive language and derogatory remarks against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, countering Sawant’s narration of the Maratha king’s history.

Kolhapur Additional Sessions Judge D V Kashyap granted him interim protection against arrest on March 1, whiling directing him to appear before the police and surrender his phone, and SIM card.

Later, the state government challenged the March 1 order in the high court saying that the Kolhapur court handed the order alongside making certain observations without hearing the police.

The judge in the interim order observed that documents that Koratkar had submitted showed his Instagram and Facebook accounts had been hacked before the crime was registered alongside some donation was collected on his behalf.

The state, however, pointed out that Koratkar surrendered his hand via his wife, rather than personally doing it in accordance with the court order, giving rise to concerns regarding his conduct.