Guwahati, April 26: Independent Gujarat MLA and Dalit activist Jignesh Mevani was on Tuesday sent to five-day police custody by the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Barpeta, a day after he was re-arrested by the Assam police on different charges including “outraging the modesty of a woman police officer”.
The Gujarat legislator was re-arrested on Monday, soon after the CJM’s court in Kokrajhar district had granted him bail, six days after he was arrested by Assam police from his home state in Gujarat in connection with an “objectionable” tweet against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mevani’s lawyer Angshuman Bora said they would decide on Wednesday whether the bail petition would be moved to a higher court.
The Barpeta police, following a complaint lodged by a woman sub-inspector, levelled several charges against Mevani. These include IPC 294 (obscene acts or words in public), IPC 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), IPC 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and IPC 354 (Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will there by outrage her modesty).
The sub-inspector in her complaint alleged that when she was escorting Mevani from the Guwahati airport to Kokrajhar on April 21 along with other police officers, the accused used slang words against her and pushed her on her seat with force.
“He (Mevani) thus assaulted me during the execution of my legal duty of being a public servant and outraged my modesty by touching me inappropriately while pushing,” alleged the complaint, according to a report by wire service IANS.
The Gujarat legislator was first arrested on April 20 in connection with an “objectionable” tweet against the Prime Minister posted on April 18. The next day he was brought to Assam, following which the CJM’s court in Kokrajhar district on April 21 sent him to three-day police custody. On Sunday, after hearing his bail petition, the court reserved its order and sent him to one-day judicial custody and asked the police to produce Mevani again in the court on Monday.
After his re-arrest on Monday, Mevani said that it was a deep-rooted conspiracy by the BJP and RSS.
