According to the police, a case has been registered under non-bailable sections like creating enmity between two communities, insulting the community, and disturbing the atmosphere of peace. Assam police arrested Jignesh Mevani over his tweets claiming that PM Narendra Modi, who “considers Godse as God, should appeal for peace and harmony against communal clashes in Gujarat.” MLA from Gujarat’s Vadgam Jignesh Mevani was arrested by the Assam Police at 11:30 pm on Wednesday (April 20), from the Circuit House in Palanpur, Gujarat. Mevani has been taken to Ahmedabad, from where he will be later taken to Guwahati.
According to Mevani’s aides who were present during the arrest, the policemen who picked up Mevani were not carrying a copy of the FIR and were unwilling to disclose the charges against him. The reasons behind the arrest were revealed only when a group of Congress supporters created a ruckus at Ahmedabad airport. The documents which the police showed then suggest that a case was filed against Mevani based on a complaint by one Anup Kumar Dey, a resident of Bhabanipur in Kokrajhar district, Assam, Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), section 153(A) (promoting enmity between two communities), 295(A) (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and sections of the IT Act.
At 3.30 am, Gujarat Congress state president Jagdish Thakor met Jignesh Mevani at Ahmedabad airport. He said, “The youth are raising the voice of the people strongly against the BJP government. At that time, the dictatorial government of the BJP is threatening the youth, but we will not be afraid to fight.” At the same time, senior Congress leaders MLA Gyasuddin Sheikh, Imran Khedawala, Dr. CJ Chavda, Congress leader Bimal Shah, Ahmedabad city president Nirav Bakshi also reached the airport to meet Mevani. Two of Mevani’s tweets currently cannot be seen, with a message from the company saying they are being withheld in India based on a “legal demand”.
