Dramatic scenes occurred as politician couple Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana were arrested by Maharashtra police on April 23. They were seen shouting towards the cameras as the police tried to take them away.
The couple had planned to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's private residence 'Matoshree'. They later cancelled the plan claiming that they did not want to create law and order issues ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit on April 24.
However, workers of the Shiv Sena party, which is led by Thackeray, gathered outside the Ranas' house to protest. They also tried to enter the Ranas' house, but the police brought the situation under control.
Later, Amaravati MP Navneet Rana, and her husband MLA Ravi Rana were arrested by police for allegedly promoting enmity between different groups (IPC Section 153A), and violating police's prohibitory orders (Mumbai Police Act Section 135).
Both Navneet and Ravi Rana are independent legislators. While the ruling Shiv Sena blamed BJP for a conspiracy to harass, the BJP asked what would have happened if the Ranas had been allowed to recite Hanuman Chalisa.