Ahmd court refuses bail to 5 congress workers accused of stone pelting

A city court in Ahmedabad on Thursday rejected bail pleas of five Congress workers accused of stone pelting and rioting on July 2 following clashes between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress workers over purported “anti-Hindu remarks” by Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, in his speech in Parliament.

Two First Information Reports (FIRs) were lodged against Congress workers based on two complaints, one by a police constable and another by the BJP’s Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) chief in Ahmedabad city.

Harsh Ishwarbhai Parmar, 23, Vimalbhai Pansara, 50, Manish Thakor, 47, Sanjay Barot, 57, and Mukeshbhai Datania, 68, were arrested over FIR lodged based on a complaint filed by Karmaraj Bhagvatsinh, Constable, Paldi Police Station, who had suffered injuries in the clash.

In the FIR, Bhagvatsinh alleged rioting and stone pelting along with other offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against Congress leaders Shehzadkhan Pathan, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, and Pragatiben Nandaniya as well as around 200-250 Congress workers” and “a mob of 150-200 BJP persons.

While refusing bail to the five accused on Thursday, the court of Sessions Judge Jayeshkumar Ishvarlal Patel recorded that it was a “clear case of assault on a public servant” and a “clear case of attack on police machinery”, after going through the photographs and CCTV footage of the incident.

The court also took note that the injured also received as many as eight stitches on his head.