Defence analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra was taken to a hospital in Bhubaneswar after he allegedly complained of a stomach ache, according to ANI. He has been in jail since October 24 in connection with a case filed against his satirical tweets about the Jagannath temple in 2017. His bail plea was rejected on November 8.
Iyer-Mitra underwent treatment at the Capital Hospital’s Department of Surgery on Saturday night, PTI reported. The hospital’s Director Chandrika Prasad Das told PTI that Iyer-Mitra’s condition was stable but did not specify what illness he was being treated for.
Iyer-Mitra was first arrested in September for making allegedly derogatory comments on the Sun Temple in Konark. A Delhi court granted him bail after he furnished a surety of Rs 1 lakh. The court also ordered him to join the police investigation but he did not, claiming a threat to his life. Iyer-Mitra then moved the Supreme Court for protection from arrest. On October 4, the top court refused to grant him bail, saying jail was the “safest place” for him.
Iyer-Mitra was again arrested on October 24 in connection with a criminal case filed for his tweets in 2017, in which he had said the Jagannath idol at a temple in Puri was actually from Kolkata and had been stolen “by evil Kalinga demon kings”.
The Odisha Assembly on November 17 had passed a motion to pardon Iyer-Mitra and dropped charges of breach of privilege against him for his comments on the Sun Temple. The Assembly had granted him a pardon after accepting the recommendations of a House Committee that inquired into the allegations against him. The House Committee had also recommended providing him books on Odisha’s history and culture.
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