Thane: A Thane-based court here on Thursday granted bail to Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale in a case registered against her under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in neighbouring Navi Mumbai in 2020. However, the accused actress will not be released from jail immediately owing to another case against her for which she is currently in judicial custody. The case pertains to the sharing of an objectionable post against NCP chief Sharad Pawar on social media by Chitale.
Chitale's lawyer Advocate Yogesh Deshpande informed that the Additional Sessions Judge A S Bhagwat granted her bail in the Atrocities Act case on a surety of Rs 25,000. Rabale police in Navi Mumbai had registered a case against Chitale on March 3, 2020, based on a complaint by Swapnil Jagtap, a member of the Ambedkar Yuva Sangh. The complaint is related to a Facebook post.
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The Thane police arrested Chitale for sharing a Marathi verse on Facebook that allegedly referred to NCP chief Sharad Pawar in a derogatory way on May 14. On Thursday, she challenged her arrest in this case before the Bombay High Court. Her plea, filed through advocate Deshpande, stated that the Thane police should have given her a notice under section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and allowed her to appear before a police officer. Section 41A of the CrPC mandates that in cases where the arrest is not immediately necessary, the police shall first issue a notice to the person to join the probe.
Chitale further alleged that instead of sending her a notice, the Thane police telephoned her and asked her to report to the police station where she was arrested. The film and TV actor further claimed that she had merely shared a poem penned by someone else, and it did not name the NCP chief. The 29-year-old actor is currently facing over 20 FIRs regarding the Facebook post allegedly referring to Pawar.
