Pune- Dhananjay Desai, chief of the extremist Hindu Rashtra Sena, has been named as an accused in the murder case of a Muslim IT worker who was beaten to death by a Hindu mob in Pune last week for a Facebook comment.
Desai, who was arrested in connection with distribution of provocative pamphlets last week, has denied any involvement in the murder of 28-year-old Mohsin Sheikh. Currently lodged in the Yerwada Jail, he will be arrested by the Hadapsar Police in the murder case.
21 people have so far been arrested in connection with the murder of Mr Sadiq. All the accused are suspected to be linked with the Hindu Rashtra Sena, a right-wing organisation.
Mohsin Shaikh, the young software professional was killed on his way home from dinner in Pune last Monday. The police linked the brutal killing to the tension over the offensive images of Maratha warrior king Shivaji and Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray circulated on Facebook and WhatsApp. Mohsin was not linked to the uploading of the photos, the police said.
The posting of morphed photos of iconic leaders on Facebook had triggered violence last week and again this weekend.