A city court on Friday remanded NCP (SP) spokesperson Vikas Lawande in judicial custody till June 6 after declining the police plea seeking his custodial interrogation in connection with his controversial remarks against some leaders of the Warkari sect.He was arrested first and the notice was served later, his advocate claimed. (FILE)Lawande was arrested by the Wagholi police on Thursday following an FIR registered over his alleged statement referring to certain Warkari leaders as “intruders”. Police produced him before the court and sought his custody for three days, claiming that they wanted to investigate the motive behind his remarks.However, the court observed that no sufficient grounds were made out for granting police custody and directed that the accused be sent to judicial custody till June 6.During the hearing, Lawande’s lawyer, advocate Milind Pawar, argued that the arrest was illegal as police failed to serve a prior notice before taking him into custody.“He was arrested first and the notice was served later,” Pawar submitted before the court.The defence also alleged that the police had cited an incorrect crime registration number while opposing Lawande’s earlier plea seeking extension of interim protection from arrest.“Police mentioned crime number 33/2017 instead of 32/2017, which shows they attempted to mislead the court,” Pawar alleged.Inspector Nandkumar Gaikwad of Wagholi police station, however, clarified that the incorrect crime number was mentioned inadvertently in the police reply.The controversy stems from Lawande’s recent statements in which he allegedly described some Warkari sect leaders as “intruders”. He had also publicly criticised religious figures, including Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, Kali Charan, Pradeep Sharma and Swami Anand Swaroop, alleging that they were being brought into Maharashtra by the BJP and RSS.Earlier on May 9, devotional preacher Sangram Bhandare and his supporters had allegedly thrown black ink on Lawande over his remarks, escalating tensions surrounding the issue.