The Pune Shiv Sena murder was the lynching of Mohsin Shaikh in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

on 2 June 2014. Communal tensions followed public awareness of derogatory photographs of

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adils ...

and

Shiv Sena Shiv Sena ( IAST: ''Śiva Sēnā'') () was a right-wing to far-right Marathi regionalist and Hindu ultranationalist political party in India founded in 1966 by cartoonist Bal Thackeray. Originally emerging from nativist movements in Bom ...

founder

Bal Thackeray Bal Thackeray (; 23 January 1926 – 17 November 2012), also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian politician who founded the Shiv Sena, a right-wing pro-Marathi and Hindu nationalist party active mainly in the state of Maharashtra. ...

uploaded to

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

. Public buses were vandalized and arrests were made. The uploads were made through foreign proxy servers traced to sources in India. Home minister R R Patil said authorities know who uploaded the images and that Mohsin was innocent and died in the riots. The

Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the Vidhan Sabha for a five-year term. Maharashtra has a Maharashtra Legisla ...

announced compensation to his family. Before this, Nikhil Tikone of Kasba Peth was targeted by Hindus as photo of him spreaded via whatsapp saying him as "Nihal Khan" during communal tensions.

Victim

Mohsin Mohammed Sadique Shaikh was an IT professional working as an IT manager for a private

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

firm. He was attacked and killed while returning after prayer from Unnati Nagar. Police made arrests including the leader of Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS), a

Hindutva Hindutva () is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. The term was formulated as a political ideology by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. It is used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the ...

group, for their alleged role in the incident.

Reaction

Dhananjay Jayram Desai, the founder president of Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS) denied that his outfit had anything to do with the murder and said, "We understand that circulating derogatory pictures is a cyber crime but the problem cannot be solved by killing innocent persons.". Rajya Sabha MP and Congress leader Hussain Dalwai on 1 July 2014 alleged that police officers investigating the Mohsin Shaikh murder case were trying to cover it up, and they should be dismissed. "The Chief Minister

Prithviraj Chavan Prithviraj Chavan () (born 17 March 1946) is an Indian politician who was the 17th Chief Minister of Maharashtra, a state in Western India. Chavan is a graduate of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani and University of Cali ...

assured us that government will make the investigation into this unfortunate incident a priority. We were also told that the organisation behind this ghastly act and the people involved in spreading communal disharmony will be taught a lesson," he added.

Desai

In March 2015 the Bombay high court denied bail to Desai, maintaining that the prosecution had rightly stated that Desai had instigated the unrest to satisfy his vendetta against a community. The judge noted most of the rioters were young men. The High Court maintained that a witness' claim that a plan had been hatched to attack members of a community as directed by Desai was sufficient to deny bail. Desai was ultimately granted bail on 17 January 2019.

References

External links

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17 men booked for Pune IT professional's murder - Hindustan Times
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Attackers referred to murdered Muslim techie as 'first wicket' -India News , Firstpost
* * *{{Cite web, url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/pune-muslim-youth-murder-is-the-bombay-hc-bail-to-accused-a-licence-to-kill-for-sake-of-religion-3207584.html, title=Pune Muslim youth murder: Is the Bombay HC bail to accused a licence to kill for sake of religion?-India News , Firstpost, date=January 17, 2017, website=Firstpost Crime in Maharashtra Persecution by Hindus Religiously motivated violence in India Anti-Muslim violence in India June 2014 events in India 2014 murders in Asia 2014 murders in India