'Why action was taken only against actor Ketaki Chitale?'

new delhi: The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Friday held a hearing on Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale's arrest for allegedly sharing on social media an objectionable post about NCP chief Sharad Pawar and said the police should not act based on political vendetta.

Milind Bharambe, Special IG (law and order), appeared before the panel on behalf of the Maharashtra police chief. NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma chaired the hearing.

The panel said that during the hearing, it sought Bharambe's explanation on why the defamation provision was invoked in the FIR and who was the complainant, why action was taken only against Ketki despite the post being shared by many people previously.

The NCW sought to know what action was taken by the police against the women NCP leaders who attacked Ketaki outside a police station, and why the IT Act's section 66A, already struck down by the Supreme Court, was invoked in this matter. It also questioned Bharambe about the proceedings initiated by the Maharashtra police in several other cases that have been recently reported to have taken place due to political vendetta. "The commission issued directions to Bharambe for immediate compliance, including sending an explanation on why the arrest was made even before doing a preliminary investigation.

"Under Section 41 A of CrPC, the police is supposed to give notice to the accused before arrest and prior permission is to be taken from a magistrate in non-cognizable cases. However, the police failed to comply with this mandatory provision of law," NCW said.