Jignesh Mevani Rearrested in Different Case Shortly After Bail From Assam Court

A court had, earlier in the day, granted bail to Jignesh Mevani in a case pertaining to his tweets about PM Modi.

File image of Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani.

(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Jignesh Mevani)

Shortly after receiving bail, Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani was, on Monday, 25 April, rearrested in connection with another case by Barpeta Police, reported ANI, citing his lawyer Angshuman Bora.

An Assam court had, earlier in the day, granted bail to Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani in a case pertaining to his tweets about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The court had reserved the bail order on Sunday.

Mevani was first arrested by the Assam Police from Gujarat late on 20 April. The very next day, a local court in Assam's Kokrajhar district rejected Mevani's bail petition and sent him to police custody for three days.

Mevani's Second Arrest

The second case in which Mevani has now been arrested was filed on 21 April, under Sections 294 (Obscene acts and songs), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), and 354 (Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the IPC.

The complainant, a police officer, said that she, along with three other officers, was escorting Mevani from Guwahati airport to Kokrajhar in a government vehicle on the afternoon of 21 April, when Mevani started using "slang words" against her. On being asked to behave properly, the complainant alleged, Mevani got agitated and "used more slang words".

She also alleged that he pointed a finger towards her and pushed her on to her seat with force, purportedly assaulting her during “the execution of my legal duty…and outraged my modesty by touching me inappropriately while pushing."

Meanwhile Mevani’s lawyer Angshuman Bora told The Indian Express that "this is a completely false and fabricated case". Adding that Mevani is slated to be produced at the Barpeta Chief Judicial Magistrate court on Tuesday, Bora said that they will now move for bail there.

The Complaint Against Jignesh Mevani (Over Tweets)

The first complaint against Mevani was filed by local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arup Kumar Dey at Kokrajhar Police Station, stating that the 41-year-old leader, in one of his tweets, had said, "PM Modi worships Godse" and "...that the PM on his Gujarat visit must make an appeal for harmony in light of the recent events of communal violence in the state."

According to the complaint, the tweet had "caused widespread criticism and has the propensity to disturb tranquility, prejudicial to maintenance of harmony among a certain section of people. It is more likely to incite a section of masses belonging to a certain community to commit an offence against other community."

"The tweet...is sure to promote enmity or hatred towards different communities," the complaint added.

Additionally, Twitter has withheld the two tweets in question in response to a legal demand.

'Modi Ji...You Can Never Imprison the Truth': Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had condemned Mevani's arrest, who tweeted, "Modi ji, you can try to crush dissent by abusing the state machinery. But you can never imprison the truth."

(This is a developing story and will be updated with details.)