Mumbai: On January 23, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Nitesh Rane visited Mira Road, located in the north of Mumbai. His visit was prompted by the violence that had erupted in the Nayanagar area of Mira Road on the night of January 21. Allegedly, a group of Muslim youth had manhandled Hindu youth after the latter entered a Muslim locality late at night, honking, playing loud music and chanting “Jai Shri Ram”. Accompanied by the region’s MLA Geeta Jain and several other BJP members, Rane met with the police commissioner of the Mira Bhayandar region. Soon after, he addressed the press.
Rane, a BJP representative who had travelled to the area approximately 500 kilometres away from his constituency of Kankavali in coastal Maharashtra, openly threatened the Muslim community and the police during the press conference. He used offensive language to address the Muslim community, made provocative statements, and urged the Hindu community to “unite and retaliate”. He further went on to verbally attack the police inspector of the Naya Nagar police station for allegedly “siding” with the Muslim community.
While Rane’s actions on January 23 warrant criminal action under the Indian Penal Code, the most alarming aspect is the fact that he made these statements while inside the commissioner’s office. Rane was permitted to address the press from the conference room of the Mira Bhayandar, Vasai Virar Police Commissionerate.
Screengrab from a video of the police commissioner addressing the press from the same conference room.
Rane’s press conference was not for all. Only a select few journalists, with established pro-Hindutva credentials, were allowed for the conference. Sabeer Shaikh, a journalist with close to two decades of experience, and an editor of a popular YouTube channel ‘On Record Mira Bhayandar’, recalled the events of that day. “A bunch of reporters went to see the police commissioner that day. After the impromptu meeting with the commissioner, a few of us headed out to assess the situation on the ground. Soon after we left, Rane came to meet the commissioner. And only a few handpicked reporters were called for the press conference by Rane,” Shaikh told The Wire. Azim Tamboli, another freelance journalist from the locality, confirmed Shaikh’s claims. A senior reporter from a national paper who has been covering the region for over a decade too confirmed.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.