Surat/Rajkot: Firebrand quota agitation leader Hardik Patel was on Monday arrested in a case of insulting the Indian tricolour and has also been booked under stringent sedition charges for his alleged controversial remarks instigating a community youth to kill policemen instead of committing suicide.
Hardik, who was detained on Sunday by Rajkot in the western Indian state of Gujarat rural police ahead of the India-South Africa One-Day International as he had threatened to disrupt the match, was arrested by the rural police for allegedly insulting the national flag.
“We have checked all the video footage, which clearly suggested that Hardik did commit an offence of insulting the national flag. Thus, police have lodged an FIR against Hardik at Paddhari Police Station today after which, we have arrested Hardik,” Rajkot-Rural Superintendent of Police Gagandeep Gambhir said.
A case of sedition was also slapped against Hardik.
“We have filed a case of sedition against Hardik Patel for his October 3 comments here telling his friends to kill policemen,” Surat city DCP Makrand Chauhan, who has become a complainant in the case, said.
The sedition case has been filed under section 124(A) of IPC at Amroli Police Station in Surat under which any accused, if convicted, can be sentenced to maximum of life imprisonment, while the minimum sentence is of three years.
The section reads, “whoever, by words, either spoken or writtenbrings hatred or contempt, or excites disaffection towards the Government shall be punishable with imprisonment for life.or with minimum imprisonment up to three years.”
Other IPC sections included in the FIR against Hardik are section 115 (Abetment of offence), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups, 505-2 (incite one community against another) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
According to Surat City Commissioner of Police Rakesh Asthana, Hardik will be arrested from Rajkot if he manages to get bail from a local court in Paddhari, where he has been arrested on charges of insulting national flag.
“We have already sent a team at Rajkot to arrest Hardik. If he is given bail, we will arrest him and bring him to Surat for interrogation,” said Asthana.
The investigation in the Hardik case has been handed over the Surat crime branch.
Hardik visited Desai’s house accompanied by a team of a news channel which had aired the conversation later.
This complaint against Hardik comes after almost 15 days of his controversial remarks.
The quota spearhead has been hogging the limelight since the August 25 “mega-rally” of Patels in Ahmedabad and the subsequent violence across Gujarat in which 10 people were killed.
Meanwhile, Rajkot Police collected concrete evidence before filing an FIR against Hardik in the national flag case.
“We checked all the video footage, which clearly suggested that Hardik did commit an offense of insulting the national flag (yesterday). Thus an FIR against Hardik was lodged at Paddhari police station today. After which we have arrested Hardik,” said Rajkot-Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Gagandeep Gambhir.
