Arijit Shashwat, the son of Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, was taken into custody late Saturday in connection with communal clashes in Bhagalpur district. While the Bihar Police said they arrested him, Shashwat’s family claimed he had surrendered, News18 reported.
He was taken into custody in Patna hours after a Bhagalpur court rejected his anticipatory bail petition.
“We had got information of his whereabouts and began our surveillance,” Additional Superintendent of Police Rakesh Dubey said. “Bhagalpur police were also here with an arrest warrant for Arijit. We arrested him near a police station here outside Hanuman Mandir. As per routine procedures, we will now begin interrogating him.”
Shashwat’s father and Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, on the other hand, said his son respected the court’s decision when it rejected his anticipatory bail plea and surrendered. He added that opposition parties had lodged a false FIR against his son. “We demand impartial investigation by agencies of [the] Centre and the state,” Choubey told ANI.
The police produced Shashwat at the residence of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate AR Upadhyay who sent him to 14 days judicial custody, reported PTI.
On March 17, violence had broken out during a procession organised by that the Bharatiya Navvarsh Jagran Samiti to mark the Hindu New Year. The procession, led by Shashwat, allegedly passed through at least half-a-dozen Muslim-dominated areas. Authorities said the participants shouted some provocative slogans, which could have triggered the violence.
A case against Shashwat was filed on March 19, and a Bhagalpur court issued an arrest warrant against him five days later. He moved an anticipatory bail plea on March 27.
While on his way to Bhagalpur on Sunday, Shashwat blamed a local MLA for having incited violence. “I will provide all the evidence, including two-hour long video footage, of March 17 programme when I led a religious procession,” Shashwat told News18. “I never chanted provocative slogans or brandished any weapon.”
His father Ashwini Kumar Choubey and other local BJP leaders had earlier claimed that the district administration had allowed the rally. Choubey also denied that provocative slogans were shouted. He called the First Information Report “a piece of garbage” registered by corrupt officers of the area.
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