Fish thrown at govt official: BJP minister Nitesh Rane, 30 others acquitted as witnesses ‘didn’t see who did it’

The prosecution alleged that around 10 am on July 6, 2017, a large mob entered the cabin of the then assistant commissioner of fisheries, Pradeep Vast, in Malvan. They were protesting over issues faced by the fisher community in the district. Rane and the others were arrested after a video showed him purportedly flinging a fish at the official and others hurling abuses. They were granted bail on the same day.

The video of the incident, which had been widely shared online, was not brought before the trial as evidence.

During the trial, Vast said various groups had come to his office on issues related to fishing, and his cabin was overcrowded. He said that when he was going through the representation being made by Rane, an unknown person committed the offence, and he was unable to state who had thrown a basketful of mackerels (bangda fish) on his table and flung one at him, which hit his cheek.

Four others, including officials of the fisheries department, did not support the prosecution case and claimed that they had not seen who committed the offence. While the FIR also alleged that Vast had been restrained in his chair and abused by Rane, the witnesses said that due to the commotion, they did not hear the actual words said by any of the accused. The court noted that no identification parade of the accused was conducted by the investigating officer.

“As such, there is no reliable evidence on record to prove that the accused caused obstruction to the informant and witnesses while discharging their official duties as public servant and they voluntarily caused hurt to informant Pradeep Vast (PW2) while he was discharging his official duty as public servant with a view to deter him from discharging his duty as public servant,” Additional Sessions Judge V S Deshmukh said.