Court sends Jignesh Mevani to one day judicial custody; will hear bail on Monday

Kokrajhar, Apr 24: A local court here on Sunday sent Gujarat Independent legislator Jignesh Mevani, arrested from the western state by Assam Police on Wednesday for a purported Tweet against the prime minister, to one-day judicial custody, a police official said.

The hearing in his case, including his bail petition, will be taken up on Monday, he added.

Additional superintendent of police of Kokrajhar Surjit Singh Panesar told reporters here that the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) decided to remand him to one day of judicial custody.

Mevani's three-day police custody had ended on Sunday, after which he was produced before the court late in the evening.

Panesar also said Mevani will be produced again at the court on Monday morning and his hearing will continue, including on his bail petition.

Mevani, seen with an Assamese gamocha (traditional towel) around his neck, was taken to the Kokrajhar jail from the residence of the CJM, where the hearing was held.

Mevani, an Independent MLA supported by the Congress, was apprehended from Palanpur town in Gujarat on Wednesday night after a First Information Report (FIR) under various sections of the IPC and the IT Act was filed in Kokrajhar Police Station over his purported tweet against the prime minister.

According to the FIR, he had purportedly posted a tweet, claiming Prime Minister Narendra Modi "considered Godse as God".

Mevani was flown to Guwahati from Gujarat on Thursday morning and then taken to Kokrajhar by road, where he was produced at the chief judicial magistrate's court, which remanded him to three days' police custody.