Kedar Dighe booked for criminal intimidation

The N M Joshi Marg police in Central Mumbai registered a case against Anand Dighe’s nephew Kedar Dighe (42), who was recently appointed by Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray as the new Thane district chief of the party

The N M Joshi Marg police in Central Mumbai registered a case against Anand Dighe’s nephew Kedar Dighe (42), who was recently appointed by Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray as the new Thane district chief of the party.

Kedar Dighe (left) with Uddhav Thackeray Twitter

Dighe has been booked under section 506 of the Indian Penal Code (criminal intimidation).

“We have registered a case against Kedar Dighe and his friend Rohit Kapoor,” a senior police officer said.

The police said that Kapoor was booked under section 376 (rape) of the IPC, and Dighe was booked for allegedly threatening the complainant in order to ensure she did not file a case.

The complainant had approached the police on Monday to register a case, the police official said.

On July 31, Thackeray appointed Kedar Dighe — the nephew of the late Thane unit chief, Anand Dighe, who died in 2001 — as the new unit head of the district. Anita Birje was appointed as his deputy.

Anand Dighe was a charismatic Sena leader from Thane and was a mentor to Eknath Shinde, the rebel Sena leader who split the Sena down the middle with the support of several legislators in June. Shinde took over as CM on June 30 with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former CM, Devendra Fadnavis, as his deputy. A skilled organiser, Dighe built the Shiv Sena organisation in Thane in 1980s and 90s and dominated the politics of the district till he died. He encouraged a number of party workers from working-class and middle-class backgrounds, groomed them and built a strong second-rung leadership. Dighe died of a heart attack following an accident in August 2001.

During the course of his rebellion, Shinde, who enjoys a strong support base in Thane district, often invoked Dighe’s legacy to justify his revolt against Thackeray. By fielding Dighe’s nephew opposite Shinde on his home turf, Thackeray has tried to counter the narrative of the CM. Though Kedar Dighe is a political novice and has not played a significant role in Sena so far, the Sena leadership hopes he will help the party garner the support of the common Sena worker.

Kedar Dighe is the son of Anand Dighe’s younger brother. Born and brought up in Thane, Kedar runs a hospitality start-up called BGourmet. He also runs a non-government organisation, Dharmaveer Anand Dighe Yuva Pratishthan that works for rural development.