Assam Police arrested Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani from Palanpur town in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district and airlifted him to the north-eastern state early Thursday, officials said. While the police did not specify the reason behind his arrest, Mevani’s close aide cited a document shared by the Assam Police and claimed that the MLA had been named on Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse for his tweet. Angered by Mevani’s arrest, Gujarat Congress leaders demonstrated near the city’s Sarangpur circle and demanded his release.
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that he was not aware of Jignesh Mevani’s identity until hours after he was arrested.
An official of the Banaskantha police station said, “Assam Police took Mevani into custody from Palanpur Circuit House late on Wednesday night and took him with them to Assam after informing the local police. Banaskantha Superintendent of Police Akshayraj Makwana confirmed that the Assam Police arrested Mevani and took her to her state after informing Palanpur Police.
Mevani had won the Vadgam (SC) seat in Banaskantha in 2017 as an independent MLA with Congress support. Although he is currently “ideologically” with the Congress, he has not officially joined the opposition party. He has earlier said that he will contest the next election as a Congress candidate. Mevani’s aide Suresh Jat said he was arrested after an FIR under IPC section 153A, which deals with offenses promoting enmity between communities, was registered at Assam’s Kokrajhar police station. . “According to a document shared by Assam Police officials, an FIR has been registered on a tweet by Mevani a few days back. However, the tweet has been blocked by Twitter. It was about Nathuram Godse. Mevani was first brought to Ahmedabad by road and then airlifted to Assam in the morning.
Besides Section 153A of the IPC, Mevani has been booked under sections 295A (malicious act with intent to outrage religious feelings), 504 (incitement to cause breach of public peace) and relevant sections of the IT Act. Mevani’s office said in a statement that he was arrested by the Assam Police from Palanpur Circuit House at 11.30 pm on Wednesday and then airlifted to Assam from Ahmedabad airport early Thursday. After learning about Mevani’s arrest, Gujarat Congress President Jagdish Thakor and other Congress leaders reached Ahmedabad airport around 4 am to express solidarity with Mevani.
To protest Mevani’s arrest, Congress leaders and workers including Thakor, Leader of Opposition Sukhram Rathwa and former Gujarat Congress chief Siddharth Patel staged a protest in Sarangpur circle and raised anti-BJP slogans. Following their attempt to block the busy road, the local police briefly detained around 20 Congress workers and leaders, including Thakor, an official from the city’s police control room said.
‘Who is he?’ Asked the Chief Minister of Assam on Mevani’s arrest
Meanwhile, CM Sarma, while answering a question from a media person on the sidelines of an event, claimed that he was not aware of who Mevani was. “I don’t know. Who is this?” When asked for his reaction on the arrest, Sarma wanted to know. “I am not aware,” the chief minister said.
However, the state Congress unit sensed a conspiracy behind the arrest and sent legal experts to assist the captured Dalit leader, who had recently pledged his support to the grand old party.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhupen Bora criticized the police action, alleging that it smacks of conspiracy.
“The police did not provide the details of the FIR based on which Mevani was arrested. Mevani has always been vocal against the BJP and the RSS. Bora also said that the people of Assam were suffering from insecurity due to rising cases of murder, dacoity and other crimes, but the state’s police force is focusing more on protecting its citizens than dealing with a simple tweet.
read all Breaking News , today’s fresh news And IPL 2022 Live Updates Here.