A court in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg has acquitted BJP minister Nitesh Rane and 30 others in a 2017 case in which he was accused of throwing fish at a government official as well as abusing and threatening him.

As per the prosecution, Rane and around 100 others, on July 6 that year entered the Malvan office of assistant commissioner in the fisheries department Pradeep Vast to discuss issues related to the sector, abused him and then threw mackerel, which hit the latter on the cheek. Rane and others also allegedly threatened to burn fishing boats.

Rane and others were booked at the time under Indian Penal Code sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 341 (wrongful restraint), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 141 (unlawful assembly), 143 (being a member of an unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 506 (criminal intimidation).