Hindu Rashtra Sena founder Dhananjay Desai on Wednesday denied having played any role in the murder of the Muslim techie Mohsin Shaikh and blamed the incident on the police’s failure to control the riot-like situation in the city. Mr. Desai’s lawyer Chetan Bhutada argued: “If police had managed to calm people down and arrest those who put up derogatory photos on Facebook, the murder would not have happened.”
Mr. Desai was arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy and murder on Tuesday.
He was remanded in police custody for a day by a Pune court. Twenty others have been arrested earlier.
Mr. Bhutada said the police was under political pressure to arrest his client. “[Mr. Desai] was not even remotely concerned with the said offence: It is conjecture to say he was involved because of his past speeches and actions,” he said, adding that Desai was being targeted for being a Hindu.
