Patna/Bhagalpur: Union minister Ashwini Choubey's son Arjit Shashwat was taken into custody in the early hours of Sunday in Patna, and while the police said they arrested him based on a tip-off, he maintained he had surrendered.
Arjit, 38, was booked under non-bailable sections for the communal flare-up in Bhagalpur's Nathnagar on March 17. An arrest warrant was issued against him and eight others on March 24.
His evading the long arm of the law for so long had seen ruling allies JDU and BJP exchange sharp words.
A Bhagalpur court rejected Arjit's anticipatory bail plea on Saturday, hours before he was taken into custody.
He was taken to Bhagalpur from Patna early on Sunday morning and produced in the court of Bhagalpur additional chief judicial magistrate A.K. Upadhyay. The court forwarded him to judicial custody for 14 days at the Jubba Sahni Central Jail in Bhagalpur, around 235km east of Patna.
Additional director-general of police (ADG), headquarters, Sanjeev Kumar Singhal said Arjit was arrested near the Mahavir Mandir next to Patna Junction.
Earlier, Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manu Maharaaj said that a team led by additional superintendent of police (ASP) R.K. Dubey rushed to the temple after being tipped off about Arjit's presence. "He was immediately taken into custody and taken to Gandhi Maidan police station, and then sent to Bhagalpur," he said.
Arjit, however, claimed that he decided to surrender after his bail plea was rejected.
"I have been wrongly accused of evading arrest. I was not absconding as I have not committed any crime. If raising slogans in praise of Bharat Mata and Shri Ram is a crime, then I may be called a criminal," he said in Patna.
His wife, Vijeta Shashwat, also claimed that he was not absconding. "He surrendered after his bail plea was rejected," she stressed.
As news of Arjit being brought to Bhagalpur broke, BJP workers gathered near the Vikramshila bridge in the town on Sunday morning with garlands. The police had to use mild force to disperse the crowd, which was adamant on greeting Arjit with flowers.
"A few supporters, including three women, received minor injuries in the skirmishes," alleged Simmi Sharma, a member of the BJP's state working committee.
The police also had a tough time dealing with supporters who had gathered along the Bhagalpur-Naugachhia road.
Arjit's legal counsel, Biresh Mishra, said his client was produced at Upadhyay's residence because it was a Sunday. Arjit was sent for medical check-up before being forwarded to jail, Mishra said, adding that a regular bail petition would be filed, probably on Monday.
Arjit was named in one of the two FIRs lodged with the Nathnagar police station following clashes in the town on March 17, for leading a motorcycle procession under the banner of Bharatiye Navvarsh Jagran Samiti. BJP Bhagalpur town unit chief Abhay Kumar Ghosh is also an accused in the flare-up case.
Bhagalpur additional public prosecutor Om Prakash Tiwary said all the accused have been booked under non-bailable and bailable sections of the IPC. While sections 353 and 295 (A) are non-bailable, sections such as 147, 148, 149, 188, 153(A) of IPC and section 3D of Bihar Loudspeaker Act are bailable.
Bhagalpur SSP Manoj Kumar said that if required, the police would take Arjit on remand for questioning.
