Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani gets bail in ‘assault’ case in Assam

New Delhi: A local court in Assam’s Barpeta district on Friday (April 29) granted bail to Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani in the case of alleged assault on a policewoman. 

Anghsuman Bora, lawyer of Jignesh Mevani told ANI that Mevani is likely to be released on April 30 owing to some formalities. 

The Gujarat MLA was remanded to five days of police custody by Barpeta's chief judicial magistrate on April 26 for "voluntarily causing hurt", "criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty" and "force on a woman cop intending to outrage her modesty".

Mevani was first arrested on April 20 and granted bail later in connection with his tweets on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Gujarat leader was arrested by an Assam police team from Palanpur town in Gujarat. Soon after his bail in the tweets case, on Monday (April 25) he was rearrested on different charges, including "outraging the modesty of a lady police officer". 

The Gujarat legislator was arrested for his tweets on the PM following a complaint filed against him by Assam BJP leader Arup Kumar Dey, seeking action against Mevani under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), section 153(A) (promoting enmity between two communities), 295(A), and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and sections of the IT Act.

 The Assam state Congress unit had protested against the arrest of Mevani, an independent MLA, who had extended his support to the grand old party in September 2019. 

(With agency inputs)