Pune: A Pune court has issued an arrest warrant for Manoj Jarange Patil, a prominent leader of the Maratha reservation movement, after he failed to appear at a hearing for a fraud case involving a theater producer. The warrant was issued by First Class Judicial Magistrate A. C. Birajdar.

Jarange Patil, known for spearheading the Maratha reservation movement, is set to lead a peace rally in Pune. Scheduled for August 11, the rally is expected to see over 250,000 Marathas from Pune city and district.

Jarange Patil, along with Arjun Prasad Jadhav and Datta Bahir, faces charges of fraud and embezzlement for allegedly not paying the agreed sum for organizing six performances of the play 'Shambhuraje' in Jalna in 2013.

The case was filed following a complaint by Dhananjay Ghorpade, who claimed that he was promised thirty lakh rupees but did not receive the full payment.

Despite being summoned twice by the court, Jarange Patil did not attend the hearings due to his involvement in the Maratha reservation protests. This led to the court issuing a non-bailable warrant against him and the other accused.

Earlier, the court had also issued a non-bailable warrant against Jarange for failing to appear in court. He later appeared in court in May and was fined 500 rupees, with the condition that he attend future hearings regularly. However, his continued absence has now led to the issuance of an arrest warrant against him.