Reacting strongly to the arrest of Ahmedabad Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s general secretary Ashwin Patel by Modi’s police, VHP regional president Dilip Trivedi and general secretary Kaushik Mehta have accused the Modi government of being anti-Hindu.

VHP said “State governments countrywide are competing to tarnish the image of Hindu organizations and Gujarat’s Modi government is no exception. Ashwin Patel is innocent. Someone else might have procured a sim card on Ashwin Patel’s name for circulating alleged SMSes.”

VHP said that some years back a Muslim youth who had threatened Modi over an email was called in Gandhinagar and was offered sweets. Modi forgave him and he was freed. But now Hindu activist Ashwin Patel has been arrested. In last some months, Hindu activists are repeatedly targeted in Gujarat by the government. Hindus who opposed destruction of temples in Ahmedabad were arrested and jailed for three days. On the eve of VHP’s national strike call on Amarnath issue, Gujarat police had arrested VHP’s workers n an attempt to make strike a failure. VHP workers who burnt an effigy of terrorism were arrested in surat.

Ashwin Patel, who is facing sedition charges for circulating derogatory and defamatory SMSes against Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the Gujarat government, was also booked for an offense of forgery for showing that he lives in Gandhinagar. The Gandhinagar police found out that the SIM card was obtained by Patel on basis of residential proof in Gandhinagar, though Patel does not have any residence in the capital. He had obtained a driving license from Gandhinagar RTO after showing a false address. Patel had earlier a driving licence issued from Ahmedabad RTO by showing his residential address in Ranip, where he actually lives. And he got second license from Gandhinagar RTO. This revelation led the police to register another complaint against Patel for an offense of forgery.

On Saturday after four days remand Ashwin Patel was again produced before Gandhinagar court, the court sent him to extended police remand till November 4. Police had demanded seven days remand but the court granted four. Earlier on October 27 The local crime branch of Gandhinagar district police had arrested VHP leader Ashwin Patel, a Togadia aide, on sedition and defamation charges for allegedly circulating SMSes provoking communal ill-will and accusing the state government of mishandling the July 26 serial blasts probe. The FIR mentions 16 cellphone numbers which received so-called provocative SMSes—around dozen of which belong to people associated with the VHP.
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