Congress MLA Nitesh Rane is arrested for abusing NHAI engineer
Mumbai : Congress legislator Nitesh Rane and his supporters, was arrested on Thursday. He is the younger son of former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane.
The arrest is made on charges of abusing, and pouring muddy water on an engineer of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), over the poor condition of the Mumbai-Goa highway. It has occurred at Kankavli in the coastal Sindhudurg district, on Thursday. The engineer was later tied to the bridge with a rope.
Sindhudurg district police chief Dikshit Gedam, said Nitesh Rane and two of his supporters had been arrested. “They will be produced in court tomorrow,” Gedam said.
The visit as made over complaints of waterlogging at an under-construction site on the highway at Gadnadi in his constituency, Kankavli. The waterlogging was caused because of the construction work and the authority’s failure to construct a service road, Rane alleged. Rane and his supporters accosted deputy engineer Prakash Shedekar, who was on a site visit, and held him responsible for the incomplete work.
In the video of the incident that has gone viral, Rane abuses the engineer and asks him why the service road was not built. “How are villagers expected to travel on a road full of mud and potholes? Is your father going to construct the service road,” threatens Rane. His supporters then poured a bucket of wet mud and slime on the engineer and tied him to a structure on the road.
His father, the Ex-Chief Minister,Narayan Rane has condemned the entire episode and apologized to the deputy engineer. “The elected representatives have every right to protest against the inefficiency of the government machinery in the interest of the common man. However, I do not approve of the agitation by Nitesh and his supporters as it is condemnable. I apologise to the officer, who was targeted.” said Narayan Rane, who is a BJP member of Rajya Sabha.
A criminal case has already been registered in a local police station against Nitesh Rane and his supporters. The MLA will likely be arrested in the case.
Nitesh Rane is no more active in the Congress and is working for Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksh (MSP), a political outfit floated by his father.
