Scribe held for 'derogatory' comments against minister's aide; also booked for extortion bid

PUNE: Police have arrested a journalist with a local news channel for allegedly making derogatory remarks against an aide of Maharashtra minister Jaykumar Gore, and also booked him in a case of attempt to extort Rs 5 crore from the minister, officials said on Monday.

The Satara police arrested Tushar Kharat, the editor of Lay Bhari, a local YouTube channel, from Mumbai on Sunday, they said.

Some opposition leaders recently demanded Gore's resignation over allegations of him harassing a woman and sending objectionable photos to her.

The state rural development minister has dismissed the charges. Last week, Gore submitted breach of privilege notices against Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar and Tushar Kharat, accusing them of defaming him.

Gore last week said the court acquitted him of all charges in 2019 and directed that the material be destroyed. The BJP minister had said his image was maligned by raking up an old issue.

"BJP's social media co-ordinator and Gore's aide Shekhar Patole had lodged a complaint alleging Kharat used casteist comments against Patole, issued death threats to him and also took away a hard disk from him," an official from Waduj police station in Satara said.

"Kharat had also allegedly uploaded defamatory content against the complainant on his YouTube channel," the official said.

The Waduj police arrested Kharat on Sunday under relevant provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), he said.

Besides, based on a complaint by Gore, the Dahiwadi police in Satara have registered a case against Kharat for allegedly raking up a harassment case of 2016 and trying to extort Rs 5 crore from the minister, another official said.

According to the police, Gore in his complaint stated that Kharat uploaded defamatory content against him on his news channel pertaining to the 2016 case and threatened him that he would "fabricate" more such cases with the help of two-three women and sought Rs 5 crore to settle the issue.

"We have booked Kharat under relevant sections of the BNS pertaining to extortion and further probe is on," the official said.

Before his arrest, Kharat claimed on his YouTube channel that fake and bogus cases have been registered against him.