The Thane police on Tuesday filed a case of assault and abduction against former Congress MP Nilesh Rane, elder son of Narayan Rane, and four others on the basis of a complaint filed by a Chiplun-based Congress worker. Mr Rane, however, denied the allegations and accused his opponents of maligning him.
Complainant Sandeep S Sawant, who is the chief of the Chiplun tehsil unit of the party, has been admitted to a hospital here.
According to the complaint, Mr Rane had organised a rally in Chiplun in Ratnagiri district on the issue of Maratha reservation on April 24 and had asked him to be present at the rally with his supporters. But he could not attend the meeting as his mother was unwell.
Angry, Mr Rane with his personal assistant and bodyguards went to his house in Chiplun and abused him. They then forced him to sit in the car and drove off to Mumbai where he was taken to Sindhudurg Bhavan in Andheri. After Mr Rane reached his house in Juhu, his men assaulted Mr Sawant and locked him in a room at the Bhavan. Mr Rane visited the room the next day and assaulted him with a hockey stick.
Mr Sawant said Mr Rane’s men then drove him to Jogeshwari and let him go. He came to Thane, and got himself admitted to the intensive care unit of Thane Civil Hospital.
The Thane police registered the case under sections 323 (assault), 341 (wrongful restraint), 363 (kidnapping), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
Mr Rane, who lost the elections in the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency in April 2014, said, “I always care for my party workers. Mr Sawant was like my family. He had demanded Rs 10 lakh from me a few months ago, but I couldn’t give the money. Later, he was in touch with the Sena-BJP alliance in Konkan. They are using him to level allegations on me. This is nothing but a conspiracy by my political opponents. The police investigation will establish the truth.”
Mr Rane said there were enough witnesses at Mr Sawant’s house when he visited, and CCTV cameras will establish his innocence. “There was a good response for the Maratha reservation rally. Over five lakh people turned up. We have decided to take a morcha to Vidhan Bhavan on May 11. So whatever my rivals could be conspiring, I am firm on the Maratha reservation.”
The Thane police will forward the complaint to the Chiplun police.
