The complaint filed by Lok Sabha MP Navneet Rana claiming that she was subjected to "inhuman treatment" by Maharashtra Police after her arrest in connection with a call to chant Hanuman Chalisa on a loudspeaker outside Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's residence has been referred to Lok Sabha Privilege Committee.
Sources said the Lok Sabha Secretariat has also sent a letter to the state government seeking the reasons for the arrest as well as the factual situation about her claims at the Khar police station in Mumbai.
Navneet Rana and her husband Ravi Rana, an MLA, were arrested on Saturday after their call for a protest outside Thackeray's residence. Shiv Sena supporters had protested against the Ranas' programme.
In her letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, the MP claimed that she was denied water at the police station because she was a Dalit. She said she was sent to Byculla Women's Jail while her husband was taken to taloja Jail.
"To my shock and disbelief, the police staff told me that I belong to Scheduled Caste and hence they will not give me water in the same glass. Thus, I was directly abused on the basis of my caste and it is only for this reason that no drinking water was provided," she said.
She also claimed that she was abused when she wanted to go to the washroom and again invoked caste. Navneet said it was her sincere effort to rekindle the flame of Hindutva in Shiv Sena and not meant to create any religious tension or target the Chief Minister.
In her letter, she said she withdrew from the exercise after feeling that her actions could create law and order problems while announcing that she would not go to Thackeray's residence.
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(Published 26 April 2022, 13:54 IST)
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