Cong leader arrested for removing chair of IB officer, causing her to fall at Jignesh Mevani press conferene

Purported CCTV camera footage shows Haresh Ahir removing the chair of Reena Chauhan, an assistant intelligence officer of Gujarat Intelligence Bureau (IB), as the officer tries to sit down after clicking photos of Mevani on her phone. Unaware that the chair she was earlier sitting in had been removed, the 34-year-old officer tried to sit down but fell flat on the floor.

As per an FIR registered at A Division police station in Bhuj town, Chauhan suffered minor injuries in her spinal cord and went to a hospital for treatment.

In her complaint to police, Chauhan stated that after she fell down, Ahir laughed aloud and said that she didn’t deserve a chair and that there can’t be any chair for her. She added that Ahir, who is a coordinator of the Congress Kisan Cell, knew her and also knew that she was a Dalit.

Deputy Superintendent of Police of Kutch East (SC/ST Cell) A R Zankar said that based on Chauhan’s complaint, Ahir was booked under sections 121(1) (voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant discharging his/her official duty), 221 (obstructing a public servant from discharging his/her official duty) and 133 (assault or criminal force to a person, intending thereby to dishonour that person) of the Bharatiya Nayaya Sanhita and under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Zankat, the investigating officer of the case, said that the incident took place at the press conference when Chauhan was discharging her official duty.

“Haresh Shivji Ahir, one of the persons present there, knew that she was a woman officer of IB and belonged to SC/ST. While she stood up, he removed her chair and when she fell down, he laughed aloud, telling her she didn’t deserve to sit in that chair. The officer is in shock and has slipped into depression,” he said. He told The Indian Express that Ahir was arrested.

The incident kicked off a political storm with BJP coming down heavily on Congress. Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghvi, said on X, “Congress’ mentality has always been anti-women and anti-Dalit. At a press conference of Gujarat Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani, look at how his close friend HS Ahir intentionally removed the chair and injured a Dalit woman officer.” This is a highly condemnable incident, he added.

Yagnesh Dave, media convenor of BJP’s Gujarat unit said that Ahir’s action betrayed the anti-women mentality of Congress.

Mevani, however, claimed that Chauhan had sneaked into his press conference. “The FIR registered against our Congress worker is motivated and baseless. Had I invited the Intelligence Bureau to my press conference in the circuit house of Bhuj? Is this your father’s firm that you dare sneak into my press conference? Whoever that officer or employee may be, at my press conference, only mediapersons were invited,” he said.

Mevani, who himself is a Dalit, said that he initially empathised with Chauhan. “But I no longer feel that way now as she has misused the Atrocity Act by taking undue advantage of being a Dalit and filing a false complaint.”