Nashik Police Commissioner Deepak Pandey earlier in the day issued orders for the immediate arrest of BJP Union Minister Narayan Rane after an FIR was registered against him in the city.
Ratnagiri: BJP Union Minister Narayan Rane was arrested Tuesday in Ratnagiri for his slap in the face against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Nashik Police Commissioner Deepak Pandey earlier today issued orders for Rane’s immediate arrest after an FIR was registered against him in the town.
Rane had previously taken the Bombay High Court to quash the FIRs against him.
The leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in his petition, filed through lawyer Aniket Nikam, also requested an interim order granting him protection from arrest or any coercive action.
Seeking an urgent hearing on Tuesday itself, the petition was brought up before a divisional bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar.
The High Court magistrate, however, refused to hear him and asked the lawyer to go through the process.
READ: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri Carries Copies of Guru Granth Sahib from Afghanistan – Watch Video
“File a request with the registry office for an urgent hearing, then we will review,” the High Court said.
The petition challenged the FIRs filed against Rane in Pune, Nashik, and Mahad in Raigad.
The Union minister sparked controversy earlier on Monday with his remarks slapping Maharashtra’s chief minister for claiming his “ignorance of the year of India’s independence”.
Earlier today, a scuffle broke out as Shiv Sena members carrying flags and shouting slogans marched towards Rane’s residence in Mumbai. They were arrested by BJP workers.
Stones were also thrown between the two groups. Shiv Sena workers then sat down on the road and blocked traffic.
Dozens of police tried to stop the fighting, which took place outside Rane’s house in the Juhu neighborhood of Mumbai.
The police even used force to separate the workers from Shiv Sena and the BJP.
