Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani appears in Assam court in cop assault case

Barpeta (Assam): Gujarat Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani on Monday appeared before a local court in Assam’s Barpeta district in a case related to alleged assault of a woman police official while in custody.

Mevani, who had reached Assam on Sunday night, appeared in the court of the chief judicial magistrate, Barpeta.

He had failed to appear before the court on May 29, the previous date for hearing, officials said.

“The next date for hearing has been fixed for August 5. We are waiting for further details of today’s proceedings,” they said.

Speaking to reporters outside the court, Mevani said, “Today is International Justice Day and I hope justice will be done in my case.” The case pertains to alleged assault of a woman police officer while she along with other senior officers was escorting him from Guwahati airport to Kokrajhar in April last year.

Mevani, then Independent MLA backed by the Congress, was first arrested on April 19 from Palanpur town in Gujarat, and was brought to Kokrajhar, where a case was registered against him for tweeting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He was arrested in the alleged assault case registered in Barpeta Road police station on April 25, soon after he was released on bail in the tweet case, with the Barpeta court granting bail to Mevani on April 29.