Maha: Court denies pre- arrest bail to BJP leader Nitesh Rane in attempt to murder' case

Mumbai, Dec 30: A sessions court in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district on Thursday rejected an anticipatory bail plea of BJP MLA Nitesh Rane in an alleged attempt to murder case.

Nitesh, the son of Union minister Narayan Rane, represents Kankavli Assembly seat in the Sindhudurg district. He had filed a pre-arrest bail application in connection with an alleged attack on one Santosh Parab (44).

Nitesh claimed in the application that he had been falsely implicated in the case and was being targeted due to political rivalry. Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat argued before the court that police have collected enough evidence to show that Nitesh Rane was behind the attack. The purpose of the attack was to terrorize people, he claimed.

Rane's lawyer Advocate Sangram Desai alleged that he was being framed up in a false case so that he could not campaign in the election of the district cooperative bank. Amid speculation about Nitesh Rane's possible arrest in the case, Narayan Rane had on Tuesday claimed his son was being falsely implicated in the case and the MVA government in Maharashtra was misusing its power.

During the recently-concluded winter session of the Maharashtra legislature, Nitesh Rane had allegedly mocked Shiv Sena minister Aaditya Thackeray by mimicking the cat's sound on the legislature premises. In August this year, Narayan Rane was arrested in connection with his alleged 'slap' remarks against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. The remarks had led to a war of words between Rane and Shiv Sena. PTI