Case filed against Prashant Koratkar for threatening historian Indrajit Sawant
The police said that Koratkar was booked for making statements capable of inciting communal tensions.
A case has been registered against one Prashant Koratkar at the Juna Rajwada police station in Kolhapur for allegedly threatening historian Indrajit Sawant. The police said that Koratkar was booked for making statements capable of inciting communal tensions.
On Tuesday, Sawant shared on social media a six-minute, 30 second audio recording of a phone conversation between (a man named) Koratkar and himself. Alongside, he posted saying: “A man named Prashant Koratkar, who calls himself a Parashurami Brahmin, is making threats in the name of the honourable chief minister. I have received such threats before but I am sharing this recording to show how hatred and disrespect for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj persists among some people. I want the Maratha and Bahujan communities to realise this. Koratkar from Nagpur—neither he nor anyone else can scare a true follower of Shivaji Maharaj. Jai Shivray!”
Taking serious note of this, the Kolhapur police booked Koratkar under relevant sections of the law. Sanjiv Kumar Zade, police inspector, Juna Rajwada police station, said, “Historian Indrajit Vasant Sawant received a threatening phone call on February 25 at 12.03 am. The accused allegedly made derogatory remarks about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the Maratha community, using offensive and hateful language. The call was intended to incite communal tensions and create caste-based divisions.”
Concerned about the nature of the threats, Sawant recorded the conversation and made it public through social media before filing a police complaint. Based on his complaint, a case was registered against Koratkar under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The police have launched an investigation with the help of the cyber cell to gather technical evidence. Police sub-inspector Santosh Gawade will lead the inquiry. “We are collecting all the technical information, and if required, our teams will reach Nagpur for further investigation,” said inspector Zade.
Recently, Sawant had criticised the film Chhaava, arguing that it presents a distorted version of history. He claimed that the film wrongly portrays Maharani Soyarabai as a villain, while the real antagonist was Annaji Datto. Citing contemporary writings by François Martin, the former French governor of Pondicherry, Sawant alleged that Brahmin clerks had informed the Mughals about Sambhaji Maharaj’s whereabouts, leading to his capture. Sawant also demanded that incorrect historical information be removed from Wikipedia to prevent misinformation.
Following Sawant’s social media post, Koratkar denied the allegations, claiming that he had no connection with Sawant and that the accusations had been made without proper verification. Koratkar stated that the voice in the audio clip was not his.
“The recording shared by Sawant does not contain my voice. Before publicly naming me, he should have contacted me or verified the facts. Instead, he defamed me on social media. Since this morning, I have been receiving multiple threatening calls due to his post. I will be filing a complaint against him with the police and the cyber cell,” Koratkar said.
A case has been registered at the Juna Rajwada police station under sections 196, 197, 299, 302, 151(4) and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Further investigation is underway.
