Former Congress MP Nilesh Rane was arrested by the Chiplun police after he surrendered following a complaint by a party worker in April that he was assaulted. Rane’s surrender comes in the backdrop of a March 24 deadline set by the Bombay High Court, which he had moved seeking anticipatory bail. The former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane’s son was accused of allegedly kidnapping and assaulting Congress president of Chiplun taluka, Sandeep Sawant, in April. [related-post] Rane, who gave himself up, was subsequently remanded in judicial custody. A case was earlier registered by Thane police against Rane, his personal assistant Tushar Panchal and bodyguard Manish Singh under relevant IPC sections for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting Sawant in April. According to the FIR, Rane and his accomplices had allegedly kidnapped Sawant and assaulted him on the way to Mumbai for not attending a rally called by the former MP at Chiplun in Ratnagiri district to demand reservation for the Maratha community. Sawant was allegedly confined to a house at Andheri in Mumbai and later let-off. The complaint alleged Sawant’s wife claimed that he was let off only after Narayan Rane’s wife intervened. Sawant had told Rane that he could not attend the rally because his mother was taken ill in a nearby village and he had to rush to be with her. On the basis of the complaint filed by Sawant, the Thane police had registered a case against Rane and his accomplices. The Rane family, including Narayan Rane, had met Sawant in the hospital. Sawant has, however, stated that he was keen to pursue his case against Nilesh Rane.
