2 Detained For Death Threat Calls To Sanjay Raut, His MLA Brother

Two persons were detained in Mumbai after Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Friday said he and his MLA brother Sunil Raut had received death threat calls and asked the Maharashtra government to take them seriously.

Both the persons were apprehended from the eastern suburb of Govandi, a senior official said.

Police are awaiting an official complaint in the case. Once the complaint is filed, the two will be placed under arrest, said the official.

Earlier, Sunil Raut had received a call in which the person on the other side threatened to shoot him as well as his brother Sanjay Raut, he said.

Sanjay Raut also said that NCP chief Sharad Pawar getting a threat on social media was a serious issue, claiming that moves were afoot to instil fear in the opposition.

"The government should take it (threat to him and his brother) seriously and not me. The government wants such threats. The matter is with the police and they will have to look into it," he told reporters.

"Sunil Raut received a threat. I didn't file any complaint. We are not worried about it," claimed Mr Raut, who has received threats in the past as well.

On Friday, the NCP claimed 82-year-old Sharad Pawar received a message on social media threatening him with a fate similar to anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar, who was shot dead in Pune on August 20, 2013.

Speaking on the threat to Mr Pawar, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said the threat is a move to instil fear in the opposition or "terrorise" its leaders through Central agencies.

"There is an invisible force behind them which the 40 people (Sena MLAs including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde) used to call super power. It is destroying the state for political purposes," Sanjay Raut said, in a possible reference to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)