Gandhinagar: A Kokrajhar court has granted bail to independent legislator Jignesh Mevani.

Shortly after receiving bail, Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani was, on Monday, 25 April, rearrested in connection with another case by Barpeta Police, reported ANI, citing his lawyer Angshuman Bora.

Mevani was granted bail by First Class Judicial Magistrate Bhavna Kakoty with several conditions, however,  within minutes he was rearrested by police from neighbouring Barpeta district in Assam in another case related to “assault” on a women officer and deterring public servant from discharge of duty. Mevani’s counsel Anghsuman Bora said –  “This time he has been charged with sections 323, 353 and 354 of Indian Penal Code for allegedly assaulting a women police personnel from Barpeta district while he was in custody in a different district, Kokrajhar.”

Mevani was yesterday sent to judicial custody (prison) as his police custody (remand) period was over. His bail petition was taken up today. While he got bail in one case, he was re-arrested for another case.

Vadgam MLA and Congress leader Jignesh Mevani was taken into custody of Assam police late last Wednesday night from Palanpur circuit house in Banaskantha district of North Gujarat over couple of tweets that are withheld by Twitter in India.

A complainant Anup Kumar Dey from Bhabanipur in Kokrajhar district in Assam has filed a case against Mevani under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), section 153(A) (promoting enmity between two communities), 295(A) (Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and sections of the IT Act.

Dey has mentioned in his complaint that he came across a tweet dated April 18 by Mevani, circulation of which “caused widespread criticism and has the propensity to disturb public tranquility, prejudicial to maintenance of harmony among a certain section of people. It is more likely to incite a section of the masses belonging to a certain community to commit any offence against the other community in this part of the country.”

Mevani has been in news for his controversial and fake-news spreading tweets in the past too. In 2019, a case was registered against him after a school principal filed a complaint stating that a video that the Vadgam MLA shared on social media had damaged the reputation of the institution. Mevani deleted the tweet after some Twitter users said that the video was of a school in Egypt and not Gujarat.

In 2018, Mevani had posted a photoshopped image on twitter and later deleted it saying –  I am told that this is a photoshoped image. Apologies for posting it without verification. Deleting my previous tweet now and will be careful in future.We all should be careful abt this and whenever we get to know that it’s fabricated we should delete it.

Complaint was also registered against Mevani and Umar Khalid in 2018 for inciting the riots near Pune’s Bhima-Koregaon. The FIR was registered on charges of creating communal disharmony through the provocative speeches they delivered at Elgaar Parishad held at Shaniwarwada in Pune. DeshGujarat

DeshGujarat