Congress leader who ‘caused woman IB officer to fall’ in Kutch gets bail

The incident happened in the conference hall of Umed Bhavan, the circuit house in Bhuj town where Mevani was addressing a press conference about giving possession of land allotted to Dalits in Kutch.

According to 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, she felt a pain in waist even as 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.

Based on the complaint filed by Chauhan,  police had registered a case against Ahir under the Bharatiya Nayaya Sanhita 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) and under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Police had produced Ahir before a magisterial court on Sunday. However, as police didn’t seek his remand, the magistrate had sent the Congress leader to 14-day judicial custody.

On Monday, Ahir moved the district and sessions court of Bhuj with an application seeking bail in the case. After hearing his plea on Tuesday and Wednesday, the court of additional sessions judge VV Shah ordered his release on bail, Kalpesh Goswami district government pleader of Kutch said on Thursday.