Sanatan sends defamation notice to NCP spokesman

Mumbai: Right-wing organisation Sanatan Sanstha has sent legal notice to NCP spok-esperson Nawab Malik over his comments in a news report, alleging defamation.

According to the notice, Mr Malik’s statements in a report published by a Marathi newspaper on August 11, with the headline “Sanatan Sanstha (involved) in terror activities: Nawab”, has caused the Sanstha “irreparable loss” and hurt its reputation.

While the notice, dated September 17, sought damages of Rs 10 crore from Mr Malik and the newspaper, the NCP leader said that he would fight the organisation in court. The Sanstha’s spokesperson confirmed that it had sent notice to Mr Malik. The Sanatan Sanstha was recently in the news when Vaibhav Raut, one of the persons arrested by the Maharashtra police for allegedly conspiring to carry out blasts in the state, was found to have mentioned on his Facebook page that he was a member of the Sanstha. While the Sanstha denied any connection with Raut, the Opposition NCP and Congress demanded a ban on it for alleged links with terror activities.

Mr Malik tweeted on Friday that he would reply to the notice and expose the Sanstha. He said he was “grateful” to the Sanstha for giving him an opportunity to prove his allegations in court.

The organisation came under the scanner earlier when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Dr Virendra Tawde of the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, an offshoot of the Sanstha, in connection with the murder of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar.