Lands in jail for dumping mud on a highway engineer who he blamed for potholed roads
In a display of political arrogance, Congress legislator and former chief minister Narayan Rane's son Nitesh Rane on Thursday was caught on camera attacking a government official with mud on Mumbai Goa highway at Kankavali. The video shows Nitesh and his followers dumping mud on highway engineer Prakash Shedekar.
Nitesh's action evoked angry reactions and drawn condemnation on social media. His father also expressed strong displeasure and said that ''The behaviour is wrong.'' He even tendered an apology on behalf of his son.
Thereafter, Nitesh surrendered before Kankavali police and was arrested. An FIR has been registered against him and around 40-50 supporters under various relevant sections of the IPC.
Sindhudurg district SP Dikshit Gedam said Nitesh and 18 others have been arrested while search for the other accused was still underway. They will be produced in court on Friday.
Nitesh had gone with supporters to "inspect" road repairs on the ground that the local administration was not repairing the potholes on the highway. He targeted Shedekar over the poor road condition. He came down heavily on Shedekar, claiming that the people had to suffer muddy and potholed roads routinely because of his incompetence.
A visibly charged Nitesh and his supporters then threw mud on the highway engineer and tied him up with rope. He also allegedly hurled abuses at Shedekar and threatened him. "People are suffering daily... Now, you also experience it," Nitesh reportedly said.
It must be mentioned here that in 2017, too, Nitesh had thrown a fish at a senior government officer when he lost his temper during a meeting.
Shiv Sena spokeswoman Manisha Kyande, decried the actions and called it a stunt for headlines. Kyande said, "Shiv Sena doesn't react over stunts". However, another Sena leader Yashwant Jadhav said the government officials are doing their best to deliver and such incidents hamper development works. ''Nobody is allowed to take the law into their hands, we condemn such act,'' he added.
Today's incident is the latest example of behaviour by politicians and VIPs. Last week, BJP legislator Akash Vijayvargiya was arrested for assaulting an official working on removing encroachments in Indore with a cricket bat. Further, a brother of TRS legislator was arrested for attacking the forest officer in Telangana.
Nitesh's Previous Run-Ins With Law
- Sept 2011: Got into a verbal duel after his car brushed Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray's car at Worli Naka
- Dec 2013: En route Goa, when asked to pay a toll, he gets into a confrontation with the workers at the naka; assaults workers and damages property
- March 2016: Protest led by Nitesh at the Sindhudurg district collector's office in support of demands by sand dumper operators turns violent; he and others are arrested
- July 2017: Congress leader allegedly throws a fish at a senior Maha officer during a meeting to discuss problems faced by a section of the Konkan fishermen
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