Guwahati: A local court in Assam’s Barpeta district on Thursday reserved its order on a fresh bail plea moved by counsels of Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani who was arrested earlier this week for allegedly assaulting a policewoman.
“We had moved a fresh bail application in the district and sessions court in Barpeta on Thursday. While the public prosecutor tried to take adjournment, the court declined and asked them to submit their arguments today itself. The order on our plea has been reserved for Friday,” senior advocate Angshuman Bora said.
Mevani was on Tuesday remanded to five days police custody by a court in Barpeta. The convener of Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, who was released on bail on Monday by a court in Kokrajhar in a case related to alleged offensive tweets targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was re-arrested the same day for the new case registered at Barpeta Road.
The fresh case against Mevani was registered at Barpeta Road police station on April 21 under section 294 (singing, reciting, uttering obscene song, ballad or words in or near public place), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty) and 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with the intention of disrobing or compelling her to be naked) of IPC.
According to the fresh FIR, which HT has seen, on April 21, while Mevani was being brought from Guwahati airport to Kokrajhar, the MLA allegedly uttered slang directed at sub-inspector Debika Brahma of Kokrajhar police station, who was also present in the vehicle.
{{/usCountry}}According to the fresh FIR, which HT has seen, on April 21, while Mevani was being brought from Guwahati airport to Kokrajhar, the MLA allegedly uttered slang directed at sub-inspector Debika Brahma of Kokrajhar police station, who was also present in the vehicle.
{{/usCountry}}“When I asked him to behave properly, he got agitated and used more slang words. He pointed his finger towards me and tried to frighten me and pushed me on my seat with force,” the FIR by Brahma read.
“He 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. After reaching Kokrajhar, I immediately informed the matter to my senior officers,” it added.
As earlier reported the 41-year-old legislator from Vadgam was arrested at Palanpur in Gujarat on April 20 and brought to Guwahati by flight the next day and taken to Kokrajhar by road the same day based on an FIR lodged by BJP leader Arup Kumar Dey.
He was sent to three days of police remand by a Kokrajhar court on April 21 and a day’s judicial remand on April 24. While the Kokrajhar court granted him bail on Monday, Mevani was rearrested by Barpeta police in connection with the fresh case.