Why Was MLA Jignesh Mevani Arrested Again? 10 Things To Know About The Case

MLA Jignesh Mevani of Gujarat has been re-arrested based on sexual assault and abuse allegations right after he was granted bail on a case over tweets against PM Narendra Modi, on Monday, April 25, 2022.

Mevani is an Independent candidate in the Gujarat Legislature Assembly. Jignesh Mevani holds a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from HK Arts College, Gujarat University. He initially worked as a reporter for Gujarati Magazine Abhiyan from 2004-to 2008. Later Mevani completed his LLB from DT Law College. He served as a High Court Lawyer, before joining politics. He joined Aam Aadmi Party in 2014 and became Gujarat’s Spokesperson for the party.

MLA Jignesh Mevani Arrest: 10 Things To Know About Allegations Against The Dalit Leader

1. MLA Jignesh Mevani was initially arrested in a case over tweets against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was charged with criminal conspiracy, offence related to the place of worship, outraging religious feelings, and provocation leading to a breach of peace.
2. Arup Kumar Dey, a BJP leader from the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) filed a case against MLA Jignesh Mevani over negative tweets on PM Narendra Modi on his account. Dey stated - "We are BJP workers and we won't tolerate such misleading and conspiring posts and tweets about Prime Minister Modi Ji,"
3. He was initially arrested from Gujarat by Assam police officers and brought to Kokrajhar and kept in Police Custody from Friday to Monday. He was then granted bail by the court of chief judicial magistrate, Kokrajhar on Monday 25, 2022.
4. Following his arrest on April 20, 2022, over controversial tweets on PM. Modi, protests broke out over three days, led by Dalit activists in various parts of Ahmedabad, demanding that Mevani be freed.
5. Following his bail on Monday, April 25, 2022, MLA Jignesh Mevani was arrested again on the same day, based on sexual assault allegations against him.
6. Mevani has been accused of "assaulting and outraging" the modesty of a woman police officer Debika Brahma. She claimed that on April 21, she was “escorting the arrested accused person Jignesh Mevani” from the Guwahati airport to Kokrajhar when she was allegedly assaulted by him.
7. Mevani has now been charged under sections of the Indian Penal Code related to voluntarily causing hurt and stopping a government officer from doing her work.
8. Mevani’s lawyer Angshuman Bora revealing more about the re-arrest has claimed,“I was not handed a copy of the FIR. From what I saw in the remand warrant presented at the chief judicial magistrate’s court by Barpeta Police soon after his bail was granted, sections of the Indian Penal Code like 354 and so on were mentioned. This would then mean that police were accusing him of outraging the modesty of a woman.”
9. The complainant alleged, “During the way, just after crossing the Simalguri point of Barpeta district around 1.30 p.m., the arrested accused person uttered slang words towards me. When I asked him to behave properly, he used more slang words. He pointed fingers at me and tried to frighten me and pushed me on my seat with force. 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.”
10. Mevani has now reportedly been charged under sections 294 (obscene act in any public place), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty).

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