In Midnight Drama, Union Minister's Son Arrested For Bihar Violence


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Patna:  Surrounded by hordes of media personnel, Arijit Shashwat, the son of union minister Ashwini Choubey, was arrested late on Saturday night in Bihar’s capital Patna, in connection with the communal clashes in Bhagalpur town in the state two weeks ago.


The 36-year-old BJP leader is accused of leading a Ram Navami procession without permission in Bhagalpur on March 17; provocative slogans were allegedly raised during the procession leading to communal clashes. The violence there is widely seen as the trigger for similar clashes in several parts of the state, and has exposed the Nitish Kumar government to fierce attacks from the Opposition.



Arijit Shashwat, whose petition seeking to shield him from arrest was rejected by a court in Bhagalpur on Saturday, was taken into custody by the police shortly after midnight, barely 300 metres from the Chief Minister’s residence. But not before the young BJP leader – who cops curiously said had been missing despite his many public statements criticising the district administration – comfortably managed a soundbyte before being bundled into a police van.


“We got information of his whereabouts and began our surveillance. Bhagalpur Police were also here with an arrest warrant. We arrested him near a police station here outside Hanuman Mandir,” Additional Superintendent of Police (SP) Rakesh Dubey told reporters. The BJP leader has been taken to Bhagalpur where he will be produced in a court today.


Arrest warrants had been issued against Arijit Shashwat soon after the violence on March 17 but the police was seen to be reluctant to arrest him due to political pressure.


His father, minister Ashwini Choubey, had called the FIR against his son as “nothing but a piece of garbage which was registered by corrupt officers of the area.” “Why should I surrender,” Arijit Shashwat had famously retorted in an interaction.



As the BJP leader managed to evade arrest, the Congress taunted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for being helpless while his former deputy and now leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav called him a “coward”.


With the Opposition accusing him of going soft on the accused including Arijit Shashwat, the Chief Minister had, earlier this week, said that he wouldn’t compromise on the law and order front, adding that “we are willing to pay any price to restore peace”.

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