A Thane court has ordered the police to file a first information report against former Maharashtra minister Jitendra Awhad for allegedly making inflammatory remarks in 2018, Bar and Bench reported on Saturday.

Judicial Magistrate Mahima Saini on February 3 directed the Bhayander police to register the case against Awhad, a member of the Nationalist Congress Party [Sharadchandra Pawar], under sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to promoting enmity between groups and making statements aimed at creating hatred.

Awhad’s alleged remarks were about a man named Vaibhav Raut, who was arrested by Mumbai’s Anti-Terrorism Squad on August 9, 2018 for possessing arms and explosives, The Times of India reported. The NCP (SP) leader had allegedly claimed that the bombs were meant to target a rally of the Maratha community seeking reservation.

A lawyer named Khush Khandelwal, who is also the national president of the youth wing of the Hindustan National Party, had filed a complaint seeking a case against Awhad. After he did not get a satisfactory response from the Bhayandar Police, he approached a court in Thane.

The judicial magistrate said on February 3 that on a preliminary reading, Awhad’s statements amounted to promoting enmity under the Indian Penal Code.

The NCP (SP) leader’s lawyer, however, argued that the allegations were politically motivated, and that the complainant had misinterpreted the remarks.