The Hindu : Maharashtra to seek CBI help for arresting author

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004

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Maharashtra to seek CBI help for arresting author

MUMBAI, MARCH 22. The Maharashtra Government today said it would seek the CBI's help to arrest the American author, James Laine, for making alleged slanderous remarks against the Maratha ruler, Chhatrapati Shivaji, and his mother, Jijabai, in the book, ``Shivaji: The Hindu King in Islamic India.''

``The State Government will seek the assistance of the CBI to arrest Mr. Laine through the Interpol," the State Home Minister, R.R. Patil, told PTI here.

The State Government has already imposed a ban on Mr. Laine's book and has sought the Centre's intervention to arrest him after the book triggered strong protests by the `Sambhaji Brigade' — a Maratha organisation which vandalised the prestigious Pune-based Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, where Mr. Laine conducted most of his research.

The Democratic Front (DF) Government would also put forth its view in the Bombay High Court, where a case in this connection was likely to be heard next week, Mr. Patil said.

But the Shiv Sena-BJP combine came down heavily on Mr. Patil for ``pretending great regard for the Maratha king.''

The Opposition Leader and senior Sena leader, Narayan Rane, said: ``What was Patil doing when the 11-acre land allotted by the erstwhile Sena-BJP regime for a memorial to Shivaji was given by the DF Government to film-maker Subhash Ghai for his film institute?''

PTI

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