Trinamool’s Saket Gokhale arrested again by Gujarat police, party says
Trinamool’s Saket Gokhale, who successfully secured bail in an alleged ‘fake tweet’ case against Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier today, has been arrested again, prompting howls of protest from his party .
Metropolitan Chief Magistrate MV Chauhan granted the Trinamool chief bail after he appeared in court at the end of his police custody, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cybercrime) Jitendra Yadav said.
But soon after he was arrested by Morbi police for another offense recorded there, Mr Yadav said.
Party leader Derek O’Brien tweeted alleging that Mr Gokhale was being “harassed by Gujarat police”, adding that a delegation of party MPs were on their way to Gujarat.
“@SaketGokhale @AITCofficial being harassed by Gujarat Police even after being released on bail. ARRESTED AGAIN at 8:45 PM on 8th Dec. While leaving Cyber PS in Ahmedabad, Police team arrest him without notice or warrant and take him to an unknown destination. CONDEMNABLE,” posted Mr O’Brien.
SHOCK #To break
@SaketGokhale@AITCofficial being harassed by Gujarat police even after securing bail. ARRESTED AGAIN 8:45 p.m. on December 8. While leaving Cyber PS in Ahmedabad, a police team arrests him without notice or warrant and takes him to an unknown destination. CONDEMNABLE— Derek O’Brien | ডেরেক ও’ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) December 8, 2022
Delegation of @AITCofficial MPs Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha en route to Gujarat. No one has yet been arrested for #MorbiBridgeCollapse but spokesperson @SaketGokhale being involved in multiple bogus cases. Anxious. Angry. In addition, this young man suffers from a serious heart disease. Dangerous
— Derek O’Brien | ডেরেক ও’ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) December 8, 2022
The case against Mr Gokhale, according to Gujarat Police, stems from a tweet alleging that Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Gujarat’s Morbi – the site of a bridge collapse in which more than 140 people were killed – in November cost the state government Rs 30 crore – around six times the total compensation awarded to victims of the tragedy. He also forged documents for his tweet on the subject, according to law enforcement sources.
The government’s fact-checking unit had zeroed in on the tweet, which was accompanied by what appeared to be a newspaper clipping. “RTI revealed that the Prime Minister’s visit to Morbi cost Rs 30 crore,” he said. The Press Information Office, in its December 1 fact check, said it was a forgery and that “no response from RTI was given.”
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