Jignesh Mevani gets re-arrested hours after bail

Guwahati: Shortly after getting a bail, Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani got arrested again by Assam Police on Monday, but the police refused to divulge what charges the fresh arrest was IANS reported.

NDTV reported, citing sources, that one among the IPC sections charged with Mevani in the new case is on allegations about him stopping a government official from doing their work.

Earlier, Mevani was arrested on April 20 for his "objectionable" Facebook post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was granted bail on Monday by a court in the Kokrajhar district.

On Thursday, the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in Kokrajhar had rejected his bail plea and sent him to judicial custody for three days. On Sunday, the court reserved the verdict after hearing his bail plea and sent him again to judicial custody for another day, directing the police to produce him again on Monday.

Before his re-arrest, he had told the media, "They (BJP and RSS) are doing this to tarnish my image and are doing this systematically. They did it to Rohit Vemula, they did it to Chandrasekhar Azad, now they are targeting me."

Mevani was first arrested after a complaint filed by a BJP MLA in Assam seeking action against him for his post. He was charged with criminal conspiracy, offence related to the place of worship, outraging religious feelings, and provocation that might cause a breach of peace.

Congress, to whom Mevani extended support, held demonstrations in various parts of Assam protesting his arrest, calling it a conspiracy. The party also sent a legal team to Kokrajhar jail to study the issue.