Pune, 7th July 2025: A man accused of attempting to desecrate a statue of Mahatma Gandhi near the Pune railway station has been sentenced to seven days in jail and fined ₹1,000 after insulting the court during his hearing. The order was issued by Judicial Magistrate First Class Dr. G. R. Doranpalle following a display of contempt by the accused during proceedings.
The accused has been identified as Suraj Anand Shukla, a 35-year-old resident of Vishrantwadi and a native of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Employed as a labourer in an IT company in Pune, he reportedly approached the Gandhi statue on Sunday night around 10:30 PM and attempted to damage it with a sharp weapon. However, alert police officers posted at the site intervened and immediately detained him.
Shukla was presented in court the next day. When asked if he had any complaints against the police or anything to state, the accused made an offensive remark against the court, leading to contempt proceedings. The court promptly sentenced him to a week’s imprisonment and imposed a fine for his inappropriate conduct. The court also directed that he be presented again after serving the sentence for further investigation in the vandalism case.
During the contempt proceedings, witnesses were examined and the accused admitted to his mistake. A formal apology was submitted on his behalf, requesting leniency. However, public prosecutor Nilima Yadav-Ithape argued for a stricter punishment citing the gravity of the offense and the accused’s behavior in court.
The defense claimed that the accused was mentally unstable and requested minimum punishment. But police sub-inspector Ganesh Chavan, the investigating officer, confirmed to the court that the accused showed no signs of mental instability from arrest to appearance. The court noted that there were no medical documents submitted to support the insanity claim.
