Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani was re-arrested in a new case today just after he was granted bail by a court in Assam in a case over tweets on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The court had reserved its order on the bail application in the tweets case yesterday.Earlier, Mevani's lawyer Angshuman Bora told Hindustan Times that the bail had been granted in connection with the case lodged in Kokrajhar. But a separate case was lodged in Barpeta district and he may be arrested again and taken to that district.
On Sunday, a local court in Kokrajhar had sent Mevani to one-day judicial custody. On April 20, Mevani was arrested by the Assam Police in Palanpur circuit house in Gujarat and then taken to Ahmedabad. From there, he was taken to Guwahati. The independent MLA for Vadgam was arrested following an FIR filed against him by an Assam BJP leader Arup Kumar Dey for his alleged offensive tweets targeting the prime minister. The charges include relevant sections of the IPC for criminal conspiracy, injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult religion of any class among others. On Saturday, the Assam Police claimed that the primary offence for which Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani was arrested was hurting the "sentiments of a particular community" in his tweets. The Congress and other opposition parties have slammed the BJP over Mevani's arrest. “The arrest of Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani by the Assam Police for tweeting against the Prime Minister is an abuse of power. This dictatorial attitude of the central and BJP governments is like a blemish on democracy and is against the constitution," Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted. Mr Mevani, an Independent MLA from Banaskantha's Vadgam seat, had said he would fight the next elections as a Congress candidate.