Mumbai: 

Union Minister Narayan Rane, who was arrested yesterday in Maharashtra over his “slap Uddhav Thackeray” comment and granted bail within eight hours, has been asked to appear before the police in Nashik on September 2.

One of the four FIRs against Narayan Rane has been filed in Nashik. The notice issued late last night asks the minister to “appear at 12 noon” next Thursday.

Mr Rane got bail around 9.45 pm, hours after his dramatic arrest while he was having lunch. He argued at a court in Raigad that he was arrested on politically motivated charges without proper notice. He also cited his health and the fact that he is a Cabinet Minister.

The Union Minister was released on a bond of ₹ 15,000 and asked to appear before the police on August 31 and September 13.

According to PTI, the Raigad court judge said: “Considering the reason for arrest and other reasons, I found that the arrest is justified.” But Magistrate SS Patil said there was no need for custody.

The bail order says Mr Rane “should not commit a similar type of offence” and should not tamper with evidence or “directly or indirectly make an inducement threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case”.

The Maharashtra police had sought seven-day police custody for the BJP leader saying it was important to investigate if there was a conspiracy to tarnish the reputation of the Maharashtra Chief Minister.

Mr Rane, 69, was arrested over his controversial comment on Uddhav Thackeray at a public meeting on Monday during his “Jan Aashirwad Yatra”.

The BJP leader claimed that the Chief Minister forgot the year of independence during his August 15 address and had to check with his aide mid-speech.

“It is shameful that the Chief Minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to ask about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given him a tight slap,” Mr Rane said, in remarks that sparked huge Shiv Sena protests.

Mr Rane held a meeting with his legal team this morning. Sources say he may approach the Bombay High Court with a request to scrap the FIRs against him. Shiv Sena workers filed cases against him in Pune, Nashik, Thane and Mahad listing offences like threatening a public servant, criminal intimidation and breach of peace.