Shiv Sena leader accused of making offensive remark to woman reporter covering Badlapur sexual abuse case

Mumbai: A woman journalist covering the protest over the Badlapur sexual abuse incident alleged on Tuesday that a local leader of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena made an offensive remark, saying she was acting 'as if she herself had been raped'. Waman Mhatre, former mayor of Badlapur who belongs to the party led by the Maharashtra Chief Minister, however, claimed that his remark was misconstrued.

Massive protests broke out at the Badlapur railway station in Thane district in the morning over the alleged sexual abuse of two kindergarten girls at a school in the town last week.

The woman journalist, who works for a Marathi daily, told a news channel that as she was covering the protests on the tracks, Mhatre confronted her, making 'vulgar' gestures.

She was reporting on the incident in such a way 'as if she herself had been raped,' she quoted Mhatre as saying.

"Such behavior was highly unacceptable and caused me agony. However, I responded by asserting that my reporting is based on facts," the woman added.

Mhatre claimed that his comments were misconstrued.

"I was insisting that they provide factual information to the protesters. The word 'rape' was consistently used. I was asking them to get factual information, but it was misconstrued," he said.

The Mumbai Press Club condemned Mhatre's statements and demanded that Chief Minister Shinde take action against him.

Mhatre "demonstrated blatant disregard for public sentiment by blaming journalists for the incident" and asserted that the media was inciting unrest, the Press Club said in a statement.