MUMBAI: Hours after Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey tweeted a video of MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana sipping tea while in police custody, the parliamentarian on Tuesday issued a clarification through her lawyer claiming that "ill-treatment" was meted out to her in the lock-up of the Santacruz police station after her arrest last Saturday, and not at the Khar police station.
Notably, the Independent MP from Amravati had earlier written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla claiming that she was meted with "inhuman treatment" in the "Khar police station" after her "illegal arrest", wherein she was denied water to drink and faced casteist slurs.
Advocate Rizwan Merchant, representing Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana in courts, said, "It appears that there is some tweet which is being floated around on social media through police commissioner Sanjay Pandey about the complaint made by (Navneet) Rana in regards to grievances of being subjected to ill-treatment while in police custody by not being provided basic facilities like water, toilet etc."
"I just want to clarify that the tweet of Sanjay Pandey sir is about the time spent by my client at the Khar police station after being arrested. The officers did offer tea, there is no doubt about it. But they (the Rana couple) were at the Khar police station till 1 AM. Approximately, after 1 AM, they (the Rana couple) were transferred to the lock-up of the Santacruz police station where they were detained for the rest of the night until they were produced before the court," Merchant claimed.
He said the complaint of Navneet Rana being subjected to ill-treatment is not concerning the detention at the Khar police station but regarding the detention at the lock-up of the Santacruz police station.
In her letter to the LS Speaker, Navneet Rana had also stated that she was being put up at the police station without due regard to the office held by her and was not given drinking water while in police custody.
Navneet also alleged that she was abused due to her caste. "I was taken to the Khar Police Station on 23.04.2022 and I spent the night in the police station on 23.04.2022. I made several and repeated demands for drinking water throughout the night, however, no drinking water was provided to me throughout the night", Navneet Rana had said in the letter.
She sought action against the Mumbai commissioner of police and other top officers over her "illegal" arrest.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat on Monday sought details from the Maharashtra government within 24 hours following the allegations made by Navneet Rana against the police after her arrest.
Earlier in the day, the Mumbai police commissioner tweeted a 12-second video from his verified Twitter handle @sanjayp_1 at 2 pm with the caption, "Do we say anything more".
The video clip shows the Rana couple sitting on chairs and sipping tea in front of police officials at a police station. Bottles of mineral water are also seen on the table in front of them.
Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana were arrested on Saturday after they gave a call for the chanting of the Hanuman Chalisa outside Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's private residence 'Matoshree' in Mumbai, which had triggered angry protests by Shiv Sainiks.
The couple later withdrew their call, citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Mumbai for an event. The lawmaker couple was booked for sedition besides other charges.
The video tweeted by the Mumbai police commissioner has been retweeted multiple times and evoked several 'likes' from netizens. The lawmaker couple is currently in judicial custody.
The sessions court in Mumbai has posted their bail application for hearing on April 29. Navneet Rana is lodged at Byculla jail in Mumbai and Ravi Rana at Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai.