A day after an ex-Navy officer was allegedly beaten up by Shiv Sena workers, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said that such attacks are completely “unacceptable and deplorable.” The retired Navy officer was beaten up on Friday after he forwarded a cartoon of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aditya Thackeray on WhatsApp.

Singh on Twitter wrote, “Spoke to retired naval officer, Madan Sharma who was attacked by hooligans in Mumbai and enquired about his health. Such attacks on ex-Servicemen is completely unacceptable and deplorable. I wish Madan ji a speedy recovery.”

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Six people, including Shiv Sena leader Kamlesh Kadam, were arrested on Saturday in the case, however, all of them were released on bail soon after. They were arrested after a local BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar posted a video of Friday’s assault on the retired officer on Twitter.

Sharma, talking to news agency ANI, said, “Government should take measures to identify the source of a message from where it’s generated.” He said, every individual in India has the freedom to express and Whatsapp is a medium to stay connected and share information.