Pune Police Submits Enquiry Report on Rahul Gandhi’s Alleged Defamation of V D Savarkar
Pune, Maharashtra – The Pune Police presented its enquiry report to the court on Monday, affirming prima facie validity to the complaint against Rahul Gandhi by V D Savarkar’s grand nephew. The complaint accuses the Congress leader of defaming the Hindutva ideologue during a speech delivered in London in 2023.
Satyaki Savarkar initiated legal action last April under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. The Vishrambaug police, in compliance with the court’s directive, verified the evidence submitted by Satyaki and submitted their findings by May 27.
According to Police Commissioner Kolhatkar, “Satyaki Savarkar filed a complaint in the city court last April, alleging that Rahul Gandhi made false claims about the late revolutionary V D Savarkar in a speech delivered in London in March 2023.”
The complaint asserts that Rahul Gandhi falsely stated in his speech that V D Savarkar had written about an incident where he and several friends assaulted a Muslim man, which purportedly brought him pleasure. Satyaki Savarkar countered this, stating that no such event occurred, and V D Savarkar never documented such sentiments in any of his writings.
“The Vishrambaug police report confirms that V D Savarkar did not document any such incident in his books. Despite this, Rahul Gandhi made defamatory remarks during his London speech in March 2023,” explained Kolhatkar.
The police report concludes that there is prima facie merit in Satyaki Savarkar’s complaint that Rahul Gandhi defamed V D Savarkar.
Assistant Police Inspector Tukaram Nimbalkar confirmed the submission of the report to the court when contacted.
It is noteworthy that a metropolitan court in Surat convicted Rahul Gandhi in March last year for criminal defamation based on his 2019 statement, “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?”, sentencing him to two years’ imprisonment. Subsequently, the sessions court granted him bail on April 3. In August, the Supreme Court suspended his conviction in the defamation case.
