Nashik Police Commissioner Deepak Pandey on Tuesday issued an order to arrest the Union Minister Narayan Rane after an FIR was registered against him for his remarks against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. 

The Nashik Police team left in the morning for Ratnagiri district, where Mr Rane is currently carrying out his ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ , an official said. Mr Rane claimed his remarks against the CM as the latter’s ignorance of the year of independence. He said during his Jan Ashirwad Yatra in Raigad district on Monday, “It is shameful that the chief minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to enquire about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given (him) a tight slap.”

After his remarks, a complaint was lodged against him by the Nashik City Shiv Sena unit chief at the cyber police station. Based on that complaint, an FIR was registered against Mr Rane in Nashik under IPC sections 500 (defamation), 505(2) (mischief), 153-B (1)(c) (remarks likely to cause disharmony, or feeling of enmity or hatred or ill-will), a police official said.

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While considering the law and order of the state and in Nashik, in the wake of Mr Rane’s remarks, police commissioner Pandey issued an investigation into the matter and immediate arrest of the Union Minister.

An official said, team, led by Nashik DCP (crime) Sanjay Barkund and comprising police inspector Ananda Wagh and other officers, was formed and it rushed to Chiplun in Ratnagiri to arrest Mr Rane and they were also asked to produce him before a court in Nashik. The team was also directed to follow the due procedure for arresting the Union Minister.

The Union Minister’s residence in Mumbai was under heavy security as Shiv Sena volunteers were expected to carry out protests against his remarks. Shiv Sena workers including women assembled outside an office of the Yuva Sena were seen carrying placards and shouting slogans against Mr Rane. An official said that a posse of police personnel, including women cops, were deployed outside Mr Rane’s residence to prevent any untoward incident.

In Aurangabad, Shiv Sena’s spokesperson Ambadas Danve complained to Mr Rane at Kranti Chowk police station over the latter’s remarks against the CM. Danve said Mr Rane’s remarks were “objectionable” and demanded action against the BJP leader.

While talking to reporters after lodging a police complaint, Mr Danve said, “Earlier, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray used to call Narayan Rane as ‘Naru’, which is the name of a disease in Marathi. The Shiv Sena has a remedy for this disease.” He claimed that Mr Rane made this statement to provoke the Shiv Sena.

The MLC said that Shiv Sena will protest against Mr Rane’s statement through the constitutional process as well as by taking to roads. An official of the Kranti Chowk police station in Aurangabad said that they have received the Shiv Sena’s complaint and action will be taken as per the instructions of senior officials.