A court in Assam has sensationally lashed out at cops in the state as it raised questions on the motive of the police in arresting the Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani. Sessions Judge Barpeta A. Chakravarty granted bail to Mevani but urged the Gauhati High Court to consider directing the Assam Police to bring about urgent reforms in its force.
Using strong words, the sessions court said, “Otherwise, our State will become a Police State, which the society can ill afford.”
“Even opinion is growing in the world for providing next generation human rights to the people in the democratic countries like, right to recall an elected representative, right to destabilise an elected government, etc. therefore, converting our hard earned democracy into a Police State is simply unthinkable and if the Assam Police is thinking about the same, the same is peruerse thinking,” the Livelaw website quoted Judge Chakraborty as saying.
Reacting to the news of his bail, the officer Twitter account of Mevani tweeted, “Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani has got bail from both the cases filed at Kokrajhar & Barpeta stations in #Assam. This is a relief for all his supporters. ‘Jail Bharo Andolan’ will happen as planned till #JigneshMevani is set free & confirmation of no new fake complaint is received.”
Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani has got bail from both the cases filed at Kokrajhar & Barpeta stations in #Assam. This is a relief for all his supporters.
‘Jail Bharo Andolan’ will happen as planned till #JigneshMevani is set free & confirmation of no new fake complaint is received.
— Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80) April 29, 2022
The Assam Police had arrested Mevani from Gujarat for his tweets critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mevani was arrested on 20 April based on a complaint by a local BJP office-bearer. Cops, who report to the state’s BJP government, had re-arrested Mevani alleging that the MLA from Gujarat had assaulted a lady cop and used force to push her down inside a police van while being taken from Guwahati to Kokrajhar.
The court raised questions on the trustworthiness of the police’s version and granted bail to the lawmaker.