Daijiworld Media Network - Gandhinagar
Gandhinagar, Oct 12: An FIR has been registered against Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani and seven others for allegedly obstructing a police inspector, creating a commotion inside a police station and attempting to foment tensions between communities during the campaign for the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) elections.
According to the FIR, the incident occurred on October 8 at Pethapur police station after Yunus Parmar, the Congress candidate from Ward No. 4, was summoned for questioning following a complaint that he and his associates had threatened a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) campaigner.
The Police Station Officer (PSO) of Pethapur police station confirmed that the FIR was registered on Sunday night, October 11, the day of polling for the GMC elections. He also clarified that no arrests had been made in the case.
According to the complaint lodged by Police Inspector A M Desai, who is posted at Pethapur police station, BJP campaigner Bhavesh Bhavsar was allegedly threatened by Parmar and his associates at Sanjari Park in Pethapur around 10 pm on October 8. They allegedly warned Bhavsar against campaigning or entering the area and threatened him with serious consequences.
Following the incident, a written complaint was submitted to Pethapur police station against Parmar and his unidentified associates.
Desai alleged that while he was questioning Parmar in connection with the complaint as part of his official duties, Mevani and the other accused formed an unlawful assembly and entered the writer's room at the police station.
The accused allegedly obstructed the inspector from discharging his lawful duties, used abusive language, created a commotion and forcibly prevented the recording of Parmar's statement, the complaint stated.
The complaint further alleged that Mevani and the other accused subsequently sat outside the police station with their supporters and raised slogans referring to the Thakor community. Their actions were allegedly aimed at provoking people against the police and damaging the reputation of the force, thereby disturbing public peace and creating tensions between communities.
The FIR also alleges that the accused recorded the incident on a mobile phone and circulated the footage on social media with the intention of promoting enmity between different communities. They were also accused of violating a notification issued by the Additional District Magistrate of Gandhinagar.
The case was registered on October 11, when voting was held across the 11 wards of the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation. The civic elections cover 44 seats, with the counting of votes scheduled for October 13.
Mevani and the seven others have been booked under Sections 189(2) and 191(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for offences relating to unlawful assembly and rioting, Section 221 for obstructing a public servant in the discharge of public functions, Section 351(2) for criminal intimidation and Section 352 for intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace. Section 135 of the Gujarat Police Act has also been invoked.
The allegations are part of the police complaint, and the case remains subject to investigation. No arrests had been reported as of Sunday night.