Gujarat MLA accused of 'assaulting' policewoman : Jignesh Mevani rearrested in another case right after getting bail

Legislator whisked away to Barpeta, tells reporters he is being victimised for being a Dalit

Jignesh Mevani.: File photo

Umanand Jaiswal, PTI   |   TT  |  Guwahati, Kokrajhar   |   26.04.22  :  Assam police on Monday rearrested Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani moments after he had received bail in a case related to a tweet on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this time accusing him of outraging a woman police officer’s modesty.

The FIR lodged by the policewoman says the Congress-backed Independent MLA “assaulted” her and touched her “inappropriately” on April 21 in Barpeta, while being escorted from Guwahati to Kokrajhar after his arrest and transit from Gujarat in the tweet case.

On Monday, after Mevani received bail in the tweet case from a Kokrajhar court, he was declared rearrested and whisked away to Barpeta, 90km away.

Mevani’s lawyer Angshuman Bora and the Assam Congress called the assault case “fabricated” while the MLA told reporters he was being victimised for being a Dalit.

“We are absolutely surprised. There was not a whisper about the assault on an official when he (Mevani) was under police custody (in Kokrajhar) for three days. Suddenly after he was granted bail, he was shown as rearrested,” Bora said.

Bora said Mevani had been charged under penal sections 294 (uttering obscene words), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 353 (assault to deter a government official from discharging duty) and 354 (assault on a woman to outrage her modesty).

He said a bail application would be moved on Tuesday in Barpeta.

An Assam police team had on April 20 arrested Mevani from Gujarat for an April 18 tweet on Modi that contained a reference to Mahtama Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse. He was brought to Kokrajhar, where a BJP politician had lodged a complaint alleging the tweet could disturb public tranquillity.

The BJP is in power in both Assam and Gujarat.

While being taken away in a van from Kokrajhar to Barpeta, Mevani alleged a “conspiracy on the part of the BJP and the RSS to tarnish my image and systematically destroy me”.

“They did it with Rohith Vemula and (Dalit youth leader) Chandrasekhar Azad and now they are targeting me. They have serious problems with Dalits,” he told reporters.

“We believe in the Indian Constitution. Babasaheb Ambedkar was targeted by (Hindutva icon V.D.) Savarkar and Modi is targeting Jignesh Mevani.”

In her FIR, the woman officer says she was escorting Mevani from Guwahati airport to Kokrajhar along with additional superintendent of police Surjeet Singh Panesar and another official in a government vehicle.

She says the MLA used abusive words inside the vehicle around 1.30pm at Simlaguri in Barpeta district.

The woman officer alleges that when she asked him to behave, he became very “agitated and used more slang words, tried to frighten me and pushed me on my seat with force. He thus assaulted me during the execution of my duty as a public servant and outraged my modesty by touching me inappropriately while pushing.”

Barpeta superintendent of police Amitava Sinha said the case had been registered on April 21 at Barpeta Road police station.

“A preliminary investigation was done, following which we sought a production warrant from the court. Today, on the basis of the production warrant, we brought him from Kokrajhar. He reached Barpeta this evening,” Sinha told The Telegraph.

Earlier in the afternoon, Kokrajhar first-class judicial magistrate B. Kakati had granted Mevani bail against a bond of Rs 30,000 with two sureties in the tweet case.

The court directed him not to directly or indirectly make any inducement, public threat or promise to any person acquainted with the case, and not to leave the area without the court’s permission.

In the tweet case, Mevani faces charges of criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between communities, intentional insult to provoke breach of peace, causing fear that induces an offence against the State or public tranquillity, and other penal offences apart from charges under the Information Technology Act.

Bora, a high court advocate, said: “No case was made in the first FIR. The second case is also atrocious. While seeking 10 days’ custody on Sunday (in the tweet case), the police did not mention this new case.”

Jignesh ji granted bail but arrested in another’fabricated’case for allegedly manhandling a police officer! No record of how & when during bail hearing!!! Attempt to suppress Dalit voice! Savarkar did it to Ambedkar; Modi govt doing it to @jigneshmevani80 . @INCAssam with Mevani. pic.twitter.com/aFCcAhXGf0

— Bhupen kumar Borah (@BhupenKBorah) April 25, 2022

State Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah tweeted: “Jigneshji granted bail but arrested in another ‘fabricated’ case for allegedly manhandling a police officer! No record of how & when during bail hearing!!! Attempt to suppress Dalit voice! Savarkar did it to Ambedkar; Modi govt doing it to @jigneshmevani.”