Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani was arrested by the Assam Police late last night, reportedly on a complaint by a BJP leader over now-removed tweets on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr Mevani was arrested from a Circuit House in Palanpur at around 11.30 pm on Wednesday and taken to Ahmedabad, from where he was flown to Assam this morning.
Arup Kumar Dey, a BJP leader from Kokrajhar in Assam, had filed a complaint against him.
"Kokrajhar police arrested Congress Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani from Palanpur Circuit House last night," Kokrajhar Superintendent of Police Thube Prateek Vijay Kumar told news agency ANI.
The First Information Report, or FIR, lists charges like criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between communities, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace and sections of the Information Technology Act.
Mr Mevani's Twitter account shows that two tweets posted by him on April 18 have been withheld on "legal demand".
Jignesh Mevani's Twitter account shows that tweets posted by him on April 18 have been withheld
"As per a document shared by the officials of the Assam police, an FIR has been lodged over a tweet by Mevani few days back. However, the tweet has been withheld by Twitter. It was about Nathuram Godse. Mevani was first brought to Ahmedabad by road and then taken to Assam by air early today morning," Mr Mevani's aide Suresh Jat was quoted as telling news agency PTI.
Gujarat Congress president Jagdish Thakor and other Congress leaders rushed to Ahmedabad airport after learning of his arrest and shouted slogans against the BJP government. They alleged that the police refused to show an FIR or reveal the reason for arresting Mr Mevani.
Mr Mevani was elected as an independent MLA from Gujarat's Vadgam. But he extended support to the Congress last year and said he would contest the state election later this year as a candidate of the party.
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