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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

YouTuber challenges FIR, LoC in HC

Mumbai : The Bombay High Court issued notice to the state government on a petition filed by UK-based medico and YouTuber, Dr. Sangram Patil, seeking to quash a Mumbai Police FIR and revoking a Look Out Circular in a criminal case lodged against him, on Thursday.   Justice Ashwin D. Bhobe, who heard the matter with preliminary submissions from both sides, sought a response from the state government and posted the matter for Feb. 4.   Maharashtra Advocate-General Milind Sathe informed the court...

YouTuber challenges FIR, LoC in HC

Mumbai : The Bombay High Court issued notice to the state government on a petition filed by UK-based medico and YouTuber, Dr. Sangram Patil, seeking to quash a Mumbai Police FIR and revoking a Look Out Circular in a criminal case lodged against him, on Thursday.   Justice Ashwin D. Bhobe, who heard the matter with preliminary submissions from both sides, sought a response from the state government and posted the matter for Feb. 4.   Maharashtra Advocate-General Milind Sathe informed the court that the state would file its reply within a week in the matter.   Indian-origin Dr. Patil, hailing from Jalgaon, is facing a criminal case here for posting allegedly objectionable content involving Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on social media.   After his posts on a FB page, ‘Shehar Vikas Aghadi’, a Mumbai BJP media cell functionary lodged a criminal complaint following which the NM Joshi Marg Police registered a FIR (Dec. 18, 2025) and subsequently issued a LoC against Dr. Patil, restricting his travels.   The complainant Nikhil Bhamre filed the complaint in December 2025, contending that Dr. Patil on Dec. 14 posted offensive content intended to spread ‘disinformation and falsehoods’ about the BJP and its leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.   Among others, the police invoked BNSS Sec. 353(2) that attracts a 3-year jail term for publishing or circulating statements or rumours through electronic media with intent to promote enmity or hatred between communities.   Based on the FIR, Dr. Patil was detained and questioned for 15 hours when he arrived with his wife from London at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (Jan. 10), and again prevented from returning to Manchester, UK on Jan. 19 in view of the ongoing investigations.   On Wednesday (Jan. 21) Dr. Patil recorded his statement before the Mumbai Police and now he has moved the high court. Besides seeking quashing of the FIR and the LoC, he has sought removal of his name from the database imposing restrictions on his international travels.   Through his Senior Advocate Sudeep Pasbola, the medico has sought interim relief in the form of a stay on further probe by Crime Branch-III and coercive action, restraint on filing any charge-sheet during the pendency of the petition and permission to go back to the UK.   Pasbola submitted to the court that Dr. Patil had voluntarily travelled from the UK to India and was unaware of the FIR when he landed here. Sathe argued that Patil had appeared in connection with other posts and was not fully cooperating with the investigators.

Nilesh Rane comes full circle for the Shiv Sena family

Updated: Oct 25, 2024

Nilesh Rane

Mumbai: Completing the political circle for the family, Nilesh Rane, the elder son of former Chief Minister Narayan Rane, joined the Shiv Sena almost after two decades on Wednesday. He is likely to be the candidate for the party from Kudal-Malvan Assembly constituency.


Narayan Rane had quit Shiv Sena in 2005 after differences with Uddhav Thackeray. Nilesh immediately joined the politics at the age of 27 when he completed his studies in Philosophy. The next year, in 2009 he contested Lok Sabha from the Saindhudurg-Ratnagiri on a Congress ticket and won. His father was Industry Minister in the state at that time.


Known for his short temperedness Nilesh had managed to have a grip over the administration. However, he lost two back-to-back Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019 to Shiv Sena’s Vinayak Raut.

Narayan Rane joined the BJP in 2020 and eventually became MSME Minister in the Narendra Modi government. At present, Rane is a member of Lok Sabha from Sindhudurg.


Nilesh’s political journey has not been smooth since last decade. Fed up with the uneasiness he had announced retirement from the active politics in 2023 at the age of 42. This announcement compelled the BJP to take a serious note. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis gave Nilesh a patient ear and resolved his issues. Nilesh reverted his decision to quit politics.


Nilesh wanted to contest from the Kudal Assembly seat on a BJP ticket. However, since the seat falls in the quota of Shiv Sena and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was not willing to give up his party’s claim on that seat a mean way was found for Nilesh. He was offered an election ticket from Shiv Sena from the same Kudal constituency. The Ranes accepted the proposal happily.


Nilesh is likely to face his bete noire Vaibhav Naik of Shiv Sena (UBT) in Kudal. Naik had defeated Narayan Rane from the same constituency in 2019.


If he is elected he will be another aggressive face for the Mahayuti in the Legislative Assembly apart from his younger brother Nitesh.

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