Notably Kathiria, a native of Surat, was earlier released from the Lajpore central jail here on December 9 after spending almost 4 months in jail following his earlier arrest on August 19 in Ahmedabad. He was arrested initially with Hardik and seven others while trying to go to Narol area for a symbolic fast on August 19 in Ahmedabad and was granted bail in that matter with others only to be arrested again in the sedition case lodge by the crime branch in Ahmedabad in October 2015. He was later handed over to Surat police last month in connection with two cases including another sedition case lodged in Amroli police station and an attempt to murder case.

          After getting bail in all these cases one after the other he was released on bail but his bail was cancelled after the request from police following his involvement in around half a dozen cases after that. Audio and video clips of his alleged misbehavior with cops and using abusive language for them had also gone viral. Soon after his release from jail on December 9, Hardik who was the first convener of PAAS had announced that Alpesh has replaced him to lead the quota agitation.