Pune, Dec 30 (IANS) The Pune Police has rushed a team to Chhattisgarh to seek custody of the arrested preacher, Kalicharan Maharaj who is accused of making objectionable remarks against Mahatma Gandhi, official sources said here on Thursday.

Last weekend, at a two-day religious congregation (Dharam Sansad) held in Chhattisgarh, Kalicharan Maharaj had allegedly made certain derogatory statements against the Father of the Nation and also eulogised his assassin Nathuram Godse, which kicked off a major political row in different parts of India.

Multiple police complaints have been lodged against him in Maharashtra in Pune, Akola, including one by Nationalist Congress Party Dr Jitendra Awhad in Thane, seeking to book Kalicharan Maharaj - who hails from Akola in Maharashtra - for his utterances.

The police arrested him from Khajuraho on Thursday morning, even as Maharashtra Police waits to book him under various charges, as descendents of Gandhi have also flayed him.

The matter also figured in the Maharashtra Legislature Assembly which ended on December 28, when the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi and Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party leaders had slammed Kalicharan Maharaj for his statements, and had demanded stringent action against him.

--IANS

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