Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane Gets 1-Month Sentence In 2019 Row

Mumbai: In a significant political development, a local court has sentenced Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane to one month in prison in connection with a high-profile 2019 assault case.

The conviction stems from an incident where Rane and his supporters poured mud over a National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) engineer.

The controversy dates back to July 2019. Rane, who was an MLA at the time, visited the Kankavli area to inspect the dilapidated condition of the Mumbai-Goa highway.

Enraged by the severe potholes and slush, Rane summoned the NHAI engineer to the spot. A video that quickly went viral nationwide showed the politician misbehaving with the official and dumping buckets of mud on him.

Following the uproar, police arrested Rane and his aides, booking them under stringent sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 353 (using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging their duty), Section 504 (intentional insult), and Section 506 (criminal intimidation).

After a lengthy legal battle, the court pronounced him guilty of taking the law into his own hands and mistreating a government official. However, Rane and 40 other co-accused were acquitted of the primary physical assault charges.

Defending his actions back then, Rane had argued that his extreme step was necessary to highlight the immense hardships faced by the public due to the highway’s pathetic condition.

The legal battle, however, is far from over. Rane’s legal counsel confirmed their next course of action, stating that they will challenge the sentence. The team is currently preparing to file an appeal against the trial court’s verdict in a higher court.