Maharashtra Police has registered an FIR against Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA and former minister Jitendra Awhad.
Awhad denied the charges against him and termed the FIR as "fake". He also said he would resign in the wake of the allegations.
The FIR against Awhad was registered on the basis of a complaint of a woman. The complainant alleged that Awhad pushed her while making way for himself during the dispersal of the crowd after an event of the chief minister in Mumbra, according to the FIR.
Awhad has been charged with Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 354 which deals with the assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty.
Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Monday said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should come forward and explain that nothing of this sort had happened as he was present when the crowd was being dispersed after an event held in Mumbra in Thane district on Sunday evening.
Awhad is the MLA from Mumbra-Kalwa set in Thane district.
"Police lodged two fake complaints against me including on charges under IPC 354. I am deciding to resign as MLA. I will fight against such police atrocity against me. I cannot see the murder of democracy with my eyes," said Awhad in a tweet on Monday.
Awhad later told reporters that such charges would spoil someone's family life.
Notably, Awhad was arrested on Friday after he and his supporters stopped a show of the Marathi movie "Har Har Mahadev" at a multiplex in Thane city alleging "a distorted portrayal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj". He was granted bail by a court on Saturday.
Ajit Pawar said, "I insist that the way this case (against Awhad) has been registered in the wrong manner, it should be withdrawn. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was there at the programme and Awhad was also present at the event. He (Awhad) is seen in the video asking people to move aside (to make way) and was also seen trying to make the woman step aside. Nothing else happened. Even though Shinde was just 10 meters away from the spot, this kind of offence was registered."
Pawar aded Shinde should come forward and explain that nothing of this sort had happened there and that irrespective of how he became the chief minister, Shinde represents 13 crore people of Maharashtra, he said and added the attempt to put a people's representative in trouble is an "act of cowardice".
Awhad's wife Ruta Awhad said, "The complainant woman is out on bail. And how come she realised after four hours that her modesty was outraged?"
Maharashtra NCP President Jayant Patil alleged Awhad has been targeted deliberately by the state government.
Patil said, "The complainant woman had met CM Shinde before the case was filed against Awhad. He (Awhad) has tendered his resignation. We will discuss the issue with NCP chief Sharad Pawar and take a decision. Awhad is disturbed. He could fight any other allegations but certainly not the one invoked against him."
Patil said one needs to think about what kind of government is being run in the state.
Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Right to Information (RTI) activist Anjali Damania tweeted, "I had fought against Awhad frequently in the past. However, the charges invoked against him are wrong."
(With PTI inputs)
