On Tuesday, the NM Joshi Marg police in Thane booked Kedar Dighe, the nephew of the late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe for allegedly threatening a rape victim against filing a police complaint. The Police also filed a complaint against Rohit Kapoor, a friend of Kedar for allegedly sexually exploiting a 20-year-old woman.
Maharashtra | An FIR has been registered against Thane Shiv Sena president Kedar Dighe, who is also the nephew of late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe. Case registered after he allegedly threatened a rape victim: Mumbai Police
— ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2022
According to the reports, the complaint against Dighe has been filed under section 506 of the Indian Penal Code which deals with criminal intimidation whereas the complaint against Kapoor has been filed under section 376 of IPC (rape). This comes to a couple of days after Dighe was appointed as the Thane district chief of the Shiva Sena by Uddhav Thackeray.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray appoints Kedar Dighe as president of Sena’ Thane District unit. Besides, Anita Birje appointed as deputy leader of Sena. @NewIndianXpress @TheMornStandard pic.twitter.com/UA8qXIBWmy
— Sudhir Suryawanshi (@ss_suryawanshi) July 31, 2022
“We have registered a case against Kedar Dighe and his friend Rohit Kapoor,” a senior police officer confirmed. The Police also said that they received a complaint against Kapoor who has allegedly sexually exploited a 20-year-old woman. While Kapoor is accused of committing the crime, Kedar Dighe is accused of threatening the woman to ensure she does not go to the Police.
However, the complainant approached the police on Monday to register a case. “Based on the victim’s statement, we have registered an offense of rape and criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code. Further inquiries into the matter are underway,” one of the Police officers was quoted.
The victim woman works at a reputed hotel in Mumbai. According to the complaint filed by the victim, she was called by accused Rohit Kapoor to her room to know about the premium membership of the hotel. While she was explaining the regulations and conditions to Kapoor, he forced himself on her. When the victim confronted him about it later, Kapoor allegedly offered her money in return for her silence, and Dighe, Kapoor’s acquaintance, allegedly threatened her.
Kedar Dighe is the nephew of late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe who groomed the members of the Shiv Sena organization in Thane in the 1980s and 90s and dominated the politics of the district till he died. He is also the mentor of Maharashtra’s current CM Eknath Shinde who parted ways with former CM Uddhav Thackeray to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party and work for Hindutva.
