Hussain painting vandalism: Shiv Sena activist sent to Sabarmati Jail

A metropolitan court on Tuesday sent an activist of the Shiv Sena to Sabarmati central jail soon after he produced himself before the court. The Sena activist Ashok Sharma is accused of vandalising paintings by M F Hussain during an exhibition at “Doshi-Hussain ni Gufa,” an art gallery, beside the CEPT University in 1997. Over the years, the name was changed as “Amdavad ni Gufa.”

The court had issued an arrest warrant against Sharma after he stopped appearing before the court on due dates. However, Sharma’s lawyer Ketan Shah said that there is something wrong in the court’s record as he was out on bail and there were no such warrants against him.

“There is nothing new in the case. The investigation was completed and chargesheet had also been filed long back. We will show the court, records of the court proceedings that show that he was out on bail and never served any warrant,” Shah said while refusing to divulge more information.

In 1997, Sharma along with his associates had targeted “Doshi-Hussain ni Gufa” and vandalised several paintings. During the incident, several people were manhandled and sustained injuries. The incident was an outcome of the protest against Hussain’s paintings in which he reportedly portrayed Hindu goddesses in the nude.