Hanuman Chalisa row | Ravi, Navneet Rana sent to 14-day judicial custody
The HinduIndependent MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana were remanded to 14–day judicial custody till May 6 by a holiday court in Mumbai’s Bandra on Sunday. Section 153A, along with Sections 35, 37, 135 of the Bombay Police Act, were slapped on the couple in the FIR lodged by the Khar police, who arrested them in a high–voltage drama that played throughout Saturday following the Ranas’ provocation to play the Hanuman Chalisa in front of Mr. Thackeray’s private residence ‘Matoshree’. While the Ranas, who eventually called off their enterprise in the face of Shiv Sena aggression, said they were taking back their plan in the face of PM Modi’s Mumbai visit on Sunday, the Mumbai police acted with alacrity to have them in custody by Saturday evening. While Home Minister Dilip Walse–Patil, in a thinly veiled jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party, suggested a bigger hand behind the Ranas’ motivations, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said despite repeated efforts on part of the Mumbai police to make them understand, they remained adamant on their protest.