Cases lodged against BJP MLAs Nitesh Rane, Geeta Jain for offensive speeches: Police to HC

The Maharashtra police on Tuesday informed the Bombay High Court that they have registered cases against BJP MLAs Nitesh Rane and Geeta Jain after finding that they gave offensive speeches during communal violence in Thane district in January. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Manjusha Deshpande last week asked the police commissioners concerned to personally verify if the speeches delivered by the two leaders were offensive and provocative.
Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar on Tuesday told the court that preliminary verification shows the speeches made by Rane and Jain amid the communal violence that erupted at Mira Bhayandar (in Thane district) in January this year were offensive.

Venegaonkar said Rane is accused of making hate speeches at his rallies in Malvani, Mankhurd and Ghatkopar areas of Mumbai.

Jain is accused of giving hate speech at a rally in Mira Bhayandar, he said.

The FIRs have been lodged against them by police under Sections 153A (promoting enmity among people on ground of religion), 504 (intentional insult with an intent to provoke) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, the prosecutor said. He further said that 13 separate FIRs have been lodged against other persons in connection with the communal violence that erupted in Mira Bhayandar between January 22 and 26. A probe is on in all the cases, Venegaonkar said. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on June 19.

The court was hearing a bunch of petitions against the alleged inflammatory speeches made by Rane, Jain and Telangana MLA T Raja Singh at Mira Road in Thane district in January this year.

The pleas claimed the speeches were made after communal violence in the area and sought that an FIR be registered against the MLAs.