Congress leader Hardik Patel arrested in Gujarat's Ahmedabad district for evading trial in 2015 sedition case

Ahmedabad: Congress leader Hardik Patel was arrested on Saturday night from Viramgam taluka in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad district for failing to appear before a trial court here in a 2015 sedition case, hours after a warrant was issued against him. [caption id=“attachment_6226661” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Patidar leader Hardik Patel. PTI[/caption] Patel’s arrest was confirmed by DCP Rajdeepsinh Zala (Cyber Crime). “We have arrested Hardk Patel from near Viramgam after the court issued a non-bailable warrant against him. We will produce him before the court tomorrow,” Zala said. Patel had been previously arrested in connection with a sedition case filed by the local Crime Branch after violence broke out during a rally by the Patel community in Ahmedabad on 25 August, 2015. The Patidar leader was granted bail in July, 2016, and the court had, in November 2018, framed charges against him and other accused in the case. On Saturday, Additional Sessions Judge BG Ganatra issued an arrest warrant against Patel, after accepting the government’s plea against an exemption application moved by the Patidar leader’s lawyer. The prosecution told the court the accused intended to delay the trial by seeking regular exemption from appearance. The court also observed that Patel, who has to be cross-examined in the case, was flouting bail conditions by not remaining present regularly with the intention to delay trial. Patel had joined the Congress ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.