5 detained after ex-MP Navneet Rana's rally attacked
Mumbai: A mob allegedly threw chairs and raised slogans at a rally by BJP leader and former MP Navneet Rana at Amravati in Maharashtra. The incident took place on Saturday night. Ms Rana accused the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena of orchestrating the chaos at her rally. The police have registered a case based on her complaint. So far five persons have been detained in this case.
The alleged video clips showed Ms Rana was surrounded by her supporters as a group of people threw chairs at a public rally, which was taking place at Khallar village of Daryapur taluka in Amravati district. In one of such videos, the BJP leader was seen marching towards the mob, appearing to ask them to go away even as chairs kept on hitting the people surrounding her from behind. Ms.Rana’s security personnel were seen trying to shield her as the chairs targeted her.
Post the incident, Ms Rana approached the local police station and sought an action against the troublemakers. Following her demand, the police registered a case against unidentified people and deployed the police personnel at the village.
Speaking with the reporters after the incident, the BJP leader said that she was delivering her speech peacefully when some people were making lewd gestures and hooting at her. However, she did not react. “After I came down from the stage, they raised the slogan of Allahu Akbar looking at me and my supporters. Even my supporters asked them not to use any bad words for me. The supporters also mentioned that once my speech gets over, we will leave. But they started throwing chairs at us,” Ms Rana said. She also alleged that she had been badly abused and received death threats from the perpetrators.
The BJP leader claimed that Uddhav Thackeray led Shiv Sena (UBT)’s leader is taluka adhyaksh (tehsil president) in the village, where the incident took place.
According to Amravati police, Ms Rana was campaigning for her party candidate Ramesh Bundile from Daryapur assembly constituency, ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly election. A police officer said, “A dispute erupted between two groups during the election campaign. We have registered a case on the basis of Ms Rana’s complaint. The situation is now under control.”
Speaking with this newspaper, Amravati rural SP Vishal Anand said that they have registered a complaint on the basis of Ms Rana’s statement. “We have filed a complaint against the persons for atrocity, rioting and an attempt to murder with relevant sections of the BNS. We have so far detained five people. The investigation is underway,” Mr. Anand added.