GUWAHATI: A court in Assam’s Barpeta district on Friday granted bail to Gujarat lawmaker Jignesh Mevani, who was arrested this week for allegedly assaulting a policewoman. Mevani was rearrested after getting bail in Kokrajhar in a separate case related to alleged offensive tweets targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The district and sessions court [Barpeta] granted bail to Mevani on a bond of ₹1,000. Further details of the bail order are awaited,” Mevani’s lawyer Angshuman Bora said.
Mevani’s lawyers on Thursday moved a fresh bail petition in the Barpeta court, which reserved its order until Friday. On Tuesday, Mevani was remanded in five-day police custody.
The second case against Mevani, who is the convener of Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch and supported Congress last year, was registered in Barpeta on April 21 under the Indian Penal Code’s Sections 294 (singing, reciting, uttering obscene song, ballad, or words in or near a 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).
{{/usCountry}}The second case against Mevani, who is the convener of Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch and supported Congress last year, was registered in Barpeta on April 21 under the Indian Penal Code’s Sections 294 (singing, reciting, uttering obscene song, ballad, or words in or near a 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).
{{/usCountry}}Mevani, 41, allegedly used slang words against the policewoman on April 21 while the lawmaker was being brought from the Guwahati airport to Kokrajhar. He was arrested from Gujarat’s Palanpur on April 20 and brought to Guwahati the next day. Mevani, a legislator from Vadgam, and taken to Kokrajhar, where ruling Bharatiya Janata Party functionary Arup Kumar Dey filed the case related to alleged tweets against Modi.
Mevani was sent in three-day police remand on April 21 and a day’s judicial remand on April 24 before he was rearrested in connection with the second case.