According to the Maharashtra police’s affidavit filed in the Supreme Court of India, a total of 30 FIRs have been registered in hate speech cases in the state since February 2023.
In our previous report on May 17, 2023, we mentioned that a second FIR had been filed against Kallicharan Maharaj, also known as Dhananjay Sarag, bringing the total number of FIRs filed by the Maharashtra police against individuals making hate speeches to nine. Now, the deputy secretary in the Maharashtra State Home department, Sanjay Khedekar, has provided detailed information about these 30 FIRs in a 30-page affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court.
Among the publicly available details of nine FIRs compiled by us, four FIRs are against T Raja Singh, a suspended BJP MLA from Telangana, two against Kajal Hindustani, one against Suresh Chavhanke of Sudarshan News, and two against Kallicharan Maharaj alias Dhananjay Sarag.
The list of FIRs mentioned in the affidavit provided by Dr. Suhas Warke, Sub Inspector General, Director General of Police (DGP), Law and Order (L & O), does not include FIRs filed after April 4, 2023. However, based on information available in the public domain, we have identified at least six additional FIRs registered on various dates, including April 13, 2023 (against Kallicharan Maharaj in Bhilloli Nanded for a hate speech on April 9), April 24, 2023 (both against Kajal Hindustani, one in Mira Road Bhayande, and the other in Navi Mumbai, for incidents on March 12 and February 26 respectively), April 28, 2023 (against Kallicharan Maharaj in Baramati for a hate speech event on February 9), May 9, 2023 (against Suresh Chavhanke at Zillapeth police station in Jalgaon for a hate speech on December 25, 2022), and May 16, 2023 (against Kallicharan Maharaj in Silod, Aurangabad, for a hate speech on May 13).
