NHAI engineer assault case: Maharashtra MLA Nitesh Rane, 17 others sent to judicial custody till 23 July

Mumbai: A court in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra Tuesday remanded MLA Nitesh Rane and 17 of his supporters in judicial custody till 23 July in connection with last week’s assault on a deputy engineer of the NHAI over potholes. [caption id=“attachment_1791087” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Nitesh Rane. Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Rane and others were produced before the court in Kankavali town, around 440 kms from here, this afternoon on expiry of their police custody. Their bail applications will come up for hearing on Wednesday. Rane, who represents Kankavali Assembly seat, and his supporters were arrested for pouring mud over National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) deputy engineer Prakash Shedekar on 4 July while protesting against potholes and slush on the congested Mumbai-Goa highway. They were booked under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 342 (wrongful confinement and 120-b (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Nitesh is a son of former Maharashtra chief minister and sitting Rajya Sabha MP Narayan Rane.