Zeeshan Kaskar 
New Delhi: On February 23, Vishwa Hindu Parishad worker Sachin Varadkar allegedly overheard a 15-year-old boy praising the Pakistan cricket team’s performance at Malvan, Maharashtra. It was late in the evening and the Champions Trophy match between India and Pakistan was on.
Varadkar gathered 50-60 men from the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena and the controversial Hindutva outfit Sakal Hindu Samaj and ganged up on the boy. The men beat up the 15-year-old and stormed his house where they exchanged words with the boy’s father, 38-year-old scrap dealer Kitabullah Khan.
The same night, Varadkar registered a complaint at the Malvan police station against the minor boy and his family. He claimed that the boy had raised “anti-national” slogans. On that very day, police arrested Kitabullah, his wife Ayesha and their minor son.
The next day, February 24, the Sakal Hindu Samaj led a procession, demanding strict action against Kitabullah.
Later in the day, Malvan municipality authorities demolished Kitabullah’s house and shop. They also demolished a shop belonging to Kitabullah’s brother. All of this action was in violation of the Supreme Court’s November 2024 order against such demolitions.
The Supreme Court, in its recent landmark judgment, had made it clear that demolitions without prior notice, hearings, or investigation violate natural justice and the right to shelter, guaranteed under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
Meanwhile, the Khan family were denied any legal representation by the Malvan Bar Association. Nonetheless, while police had requested custody of Kitabullah and Ayesha “for further investigation,” a court rejected the plea and granted them bail with certain conditions. However, they were not released till late Wednesday (February 26) as bail formalities were still pending. The boy, who had been placed in an observation home, was handed over to his uncle on February 24.
Nilesh Rane, the Shiv Sena (Shinde) MLA from Kudal posted images of the demolition on X and wrote, “We will expel this immigrant scoundrel from the district, but before that, we will immediately destroy his scrap metal business.”
He also posted a video of himself warning the public of “anti-nationals in their neighbourhood” and also questioned the validity of Kitabullah and his family’s Aadhaar cards.
‘No evidence’
Saurabh Agrawal, Malvan superintendent of police told The Wire that an FIR was registered against Kitabullah on circumstantial evidence based on Sachin Varadkar’s complaint. When asked whether there is any evidence – video or otherwise – of the alleged sloganeering, he said, “There is no video available regarding the anti-national slogans. We have taken this action based on a complaint from Sachin Varadkar.”
He said that the couple has been charged under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 197 (assertions prejudicial to national integration), and 3(5) (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).
Locals scared
Residents of Malvan are tight-lipped about the issue. None of the Khans’ neighbours that The Wire spoke with were willing to be named as many feared backlash from Ranes supporters.
Those who spoke off the record pointed to the fact that the Bhangarwala (or scrap dealer) community, to which the Khans belong, has been living in the area for decades. The profession is not exclusive to Muslims, Members of the Gondhali and Ingale castes, from the Hindu community are also part of the scrap trade. There has never been any communal tension between the communities, several locals said.
They claim that the issue was escalated by Hindutva outfits to create a communal divide. The rally and demolitions were led by RSS worker Sameer Gavankar and Shiv Sena leader Datta Samant, both known to be active in the Hindutva ecosystem.
‘Routine action’ without police
One resident pointed to the absence of police or any municipal officer in the videos showing the ‘bulldozer action’ in Malvan. When asked if police personnel were present at the demolition spot, SP Agrawal said that the demolition was carried out entirely by the Malvan Municipality without any involvement from the police. “It was a routine action by the Nagar Parishad. Police forces are only deployed if necessary to maintain law and order during such actions,” he said.
The Wire tried reaching out to Santosh Zirge, the Chief Officer of the Malvan municipality for a comment multiple times, but there was no response. The copy will be updated if there is a response from Zirge.
However, while speaking to Times of India, Zirge said, “We received two letters. The police letter was on a law and order issue, while local (Shiv Sena) MLA Nilesh Rane’s letter was about illegalities and traffic snarls. Hence we demolished the structure immediately without serving any notice to the owner as well as the occupants on February 25 (Tuesday).”
None of the municipalities in Maharashtra have an elected body at present. There have been no local elections for years due to the unstable political climate at the state level. Thus, all the municipalities are in direct control of the state’s administration.
This is not the first instance of communal tension in the area connected to MLA Rane.
On February 10 2024, in Zarap village near the Kudal highway, a small tea stall run by a local Muslim man was targeted. The village has a significant Muslim population. Passengers from a luxury bus had stopped for tea when an argument broke out. A police complaint from MLA Rane allegedly escalated the situation, leading to the bulldozing of the tea stall. Locals believe these incidents are part of a larger pattern of creating communal tension in the region.
‘Living here for 15 years’
The Khans have been residing in Malvan for the last 15 years. Locals said that this family had good relations with Narayan Rane, the father of Nilesh Rane and a former Union minister. But both local media and local politicians have called them ‘parapraantiya’ – migrants from other Indian states.
Almost all the Marathi publications ran the story without mentioning that the FIR was lodged based on the complaint of one man. One mainstream news outlet even called them “Bangladeshis” in the headline. A relative of Kitabullah Khan’s, who requested not to be named, told The Wire that the family belongs to Sekhui village located in the Bansi tehsil of Siddharthnagar district in Uttar Pradesh.
On allegations of having furnished fake Aadhaar cards, the relative said, “We have been living in Malvan for almost 15 years. Around two or three years ago, we officially got our permanent address changed from UP to Malvan.”
The relative said that the minor boy was in shock as he had faced multiple injuries after the beating. The boy denied raising any “anti-India” slogans, his relative said.
The Ranes
All fingers point towards local leaders and especially the Ranes. Their supporters from Shiv Sena (Shinde), like Datta Samant, have been giving calls to “uproot all people who have an anti-national mindset”. Nilesh Rane was at the forefront of both the communal incidents in Sindhudurg district. He posted images of the demolition in both cases and claimed responsibility for the carnage caused.
Nilesh’s brother, Nitesh Rane, is, in fact, the new poster boy of Hindutva and is infamous for giving communally charged speeches against Muslims.
All this is relatively new. Narayan Rane, a former chief minister from Shiv Sena had been in the Congress. Nilesh was elected Lok Sabha MP from Congress in 2009. In 2015, Nitesh Rane tweeted about Savarkar’s apologies and called the then BJP government “shameless” for proposing to give Bharat Ratna to Savarkar.
In 2019, Narayan Rane joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with his son, Nitesh. Since then, Nitesh Rane has been one of the biggest anti-Muslim voices in Maharashtra. He also has multiple hate speech FIRs against his name. In 2024, Nitesh was elevated to the post of cabinet minister in the Maharashtra government and was also named guardian minister of Sindhudurg.