Thane: NCP leader and former minister Jitendra Awhad, his colleague and ex MP Anand Paranjpe and 10 of their party workers were arrested by the Vartak Nagar police in Thane for allegedly assaulting a a member of the audience inside a multiplex and stalling a show of Marathi movie Har Har Mahadev on Tuesday. Charges of rioting, assault and molestation were invoked after the same viewer complained that the NCP men had tried to touch his wife.

Awhad will be produced in a Thane court on Saturday. He will have to spend a night in police custody, said an officer. Awhad had barged into a multiplex inside Viviana mall on Monday and disrupted a screening; he ordered the audience to leave the auditorium. Awhad alleged that the movie based on Chhatrapati Shivaji’s life distorted facts and depicted historical characters in poor light.

Moments before his arrest, Awhad tweeted saying police was abusing its powers and that he was ready to fight regardless of the consequences, but he would not plead guilty. Awhad said he was on his way to Mumbai but went to the police station instead where he was engaged in talks. A little later, he claimed the DCP of the zone arrived and asked for the NCP leader and the others to be placed under arrest as “there are orders from above”.

As the news of his arrest broke, NCP workers began gathering at the spot. They shouted slogans and even prevented a police vehicle from leaving the station premises. Awhad’s wife Ruta too came to the spot and alleged highhandedness by police.

His nephew Digvijay Garje alleged, “Police are trying to frame Awhad as they had summoned a staff member from the multiplex to pressure him to implicate my uncle and to add stringent sections using a flimsy statement.”

When Awhad and his followers disrupted the show, things turned ugly after a viewer named Parikshit Durve protested the stalling and confronted the NCP men. He was assaulted in front of his wife with blows, punches and kicks. Subsequently a case was registered at Vartak Nagar police station on Durve’s complaint.

The sections invoked include assault, rioting and molestation under section 7 of Criminal Amendment Act. In his complaint, Durve alleged that as Awhad and his gang began to forcibly vacate the hall, 8-10 NCP workers tried to touch his wife. When Durve intervened he was assaulted.

Ketaki Chitale, who was arrested and was in jail for over 40 days for posting derogatory content against Sharad Pawar, dashed off a letter to Thane police asking section 354 for molestation as well as 120-B for criminal conspiracy to be added against Awhad.

State NCP chief Jayant Patil and NCP MP Supriya Sule condemned the arrest. “I am surprised and shocked over the arrest of our leader Jeetendra Awhad. More shocking is the fact that he’s been arrested for taking on people who embarked on defaming the great Maratha emperor Shivaji Maharaj,’’ Patil said.

Sule said, “If Awhad is sent to jail for questioning the anti-Shivaji brigade, then we are proud of him. Under the leadership of Shinde-Fadnavis, persons committing crimes are being let off and persons resorting to agitations for a rightful cause are being jailed. To secure power, the government has stooped to the lowest level."