Patna/Bhagalpur: A Bhagalpur court on Saturday rejected the anticipatory bail petition of Arjit Shashwat, central minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey's son, who has been evading arrest for two weeks after he was booked for allegedly inciting social tension in the district on March 17.

Additional district and sessions judge (IV) Kumud Ranjan Singh, who is officiating as the district and sessions judge, turned down Arjit's anticipatory bail application in a single-line order after hearing the arguments of his legal counsel and that of the prosecution. A detailed order is expected later.

Soon after the verdict, the Bhagalpur police intensified raids to nab Arjit, who went into hiding soon after the FIR was lodged against him on March 17. He had surfaced in Patna - even daring the government to arrest him - and was photographed brandishing a sword at a Ram Navami function in the state capital over the weekend of March 24-25.

Police sources said teams had been sent to Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to arrest Arjit. Bhagalpur senior superintendent of police Manoj Kumar said the teams conduced raids at the BJP leader's different hideouts in the state and outside but in vain.

In the court on Saturday, Bhagalpur public prosecutor Satyanarayan Sah, who represented the State, argued that Arjit had played a key role in spreading communal tension in the areas falling under Nathnagar police station of the district headquarters town during a religious procession on March 17.

Presenting the evidence against Arjit, the public prosecutor asked, "What was the relevance of raising slogans such as 'Jai Shri Ram' during the procession? It was obviously aimed at hurting the sentiments of people belonging to other communities and insulting them."

Sah told the court that the police had video footage of Arjit and others chanting provocative slogans in full view of the public. In addition, call detail records of his mobile phone showed that he was present in Bhagalpur when the incident took place.

Sah also said that Arjit had violated the law by leading the procession which was taken out without the permission of the district administration.

Defence lawyers Biresh Mishra and Kameshwar Pandey, however, rebutted the allegations. "Is Arjit responsible for the recent violence in other parts of Bihar and Bengal?" asked the defence lawyers. They sought a reply from the public prosecutor, who chose to remain silent.

The defence dismissed the case diary submitted by the police as "false and fabricated". "Is it a sin to chant slogans like 'Jai Shri Ram'," Arjit's lawyers argued, and said that the charge that those in the procession were carrying arms and ammunition was baseless.

The court, however, agreed with the prosecution and denied bail to Arjit. But it reserved the order on the anticipatory bail petition of eight other named accused in the case.