Four people were acquitted in a 2017 case where they were accused of dousing Republican Party of India (RPI) leader Sopan Kamble in flammable liquid and attempting to set him on fire during a protest in South Mumbai. The court observed that the allegations against the men — Vishal Manohar Diwar, Vishal Rahul Jonjal, Vishal Pandurang Gaikwad, and Shirish Dhondiram Chikhalkar — appeared to have stemmed from political rivalry and that no such incident had actually taken place. Kamble, the complainant, is a retired Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport employee who served as the South Mumbai president of the RPI in 2006.

Case background

In 2017, after Dalit scholar Dr Krishna Kirwale’s murder, the RPI held an agitation at Azad Maidan demanding a CBI probe. Four activists later proposed a rasta roko near CSMT, which party leader Sopan Kamble opposed, citing public inconvenience and police orders. During the dispute, one accused allegedly poured kerosene on Kamble while another tried to set him on fire. Kamble’s wife and an activist intervened, but the group also assaulted him. An FIR was filed, and four spent six months in jail before getting bail.