Nagpur: The Beltarodi police station at Nagpur lodged a fresh case against portal editor Prashant Koratkar in the early hours of Saturday. In a twist, Koratkar’s wife Pallavi also lodged a complaint against historian Indrajeet Sawant for the mental harassment the family faced due to his releasing the voice clip and making a social media post.
Koratkar, before going underground, had claimed that an AI tool was used to recreate his voice and that he did not communicate with Sawant.
Sources from the Beltarodi police station stated a ‘zero’ FIR against Koratkar was registered under various provisions for disturbing communal harmony following a complaint from the Maratha community. The case was registered and sent to Kolhapur police, where the first case was registered following a complaint by Sawant, who claimed he was abused and threatened by Koratkar over his historical analysis of the conflict between the Maratha community and the Aurangzeb-led Mughals. “As per the court’s direction, the case registered at Beltarodi police station would be sent to Kolhapur for action as the offence was initially registered there,” said a police source.
Koratkar, who on Saturday got interim protection in the first case from a Kolhapur court, will now have to seek similar pre-arrest relief in the second case registered at Beltarodi police station. Koratkar is reported to have left his Besa Chowk residence in the evening on February 25 and managed to evade the police until now.
Sources from the police department said Koratkar’s wife Pallavi, a headmistress at a Besa school, claimed in her complaint that Sawant’s action of posting the voice clip and social media message led to the ongoing media trial against her husband. The Beltarodi police have kept Pallavi’s complaint under consideration for investigation.
Sources said police have collected CCTV footage of Koratkar’s house and other places where he was spotted. A Nagpur police team also visited some places in Madhya Pradesh following some clues. Kolhapur police teams are also trying to apprehend the controversial journalist. Nagpur police’s cyber cell has also been engaged in tracking Koratkar, whose relatives’ cellphones are under surveillance.
