Court seeks police officers’ version on lawyer’s detention

The petition said the police had left a message for Ranawade at his residence phone number,asking him to come to the ACP’s office. “On reaching there,he was told that an offence of atrocity had been registered against him and his two brothers; he was was kept in the lock-up for the night. The next day,he was let off without being booked for any offence,” Ranawade’s counsel Rahul Kadam said.

Ranawade had,last year,filed a petition against the police in the High Court for illegally arresting his client Anil Kamra and the court had passed strictures against the police. “Since then,the police have been pressurising me to withdraw this one-year-old writ petition,” Ranawade said. He has sought an inquiry and legal action against the police personnel in his petition.

ACP Mane said he had received a copy of the order. “Detaining Satish Ranawade was a preventive action; it was necessary because he and his brother were threatening some witnesses. There are two cases filed against his brother and the witnesses were on their way to the court when the brothers threatened them. They had also beaten one of them,who has left his house out of fear. We had no choice but to detain him.”

Tele said he would give his reasons in his affidavit.