Independent MLA from Gujarat, Jignesh Mevani, on Friday, 19 March, was reportedly suspended from the state’s assembly for a day, after he made repeated demands for the arrest of a police sub-inspector who was allegedly present at the spot when a Dalit man was killed.
After the Question Hour came to an end, Mevani raised a poster that displayed the picture of a Dalit man who was allegedly killed by a mob in the presence of a policeman.
The poster read: ‘Why are you not arresting the culprits?’. Following this, he was asked to leave the House by Speaker Rajendra Trivedi.
This was not the first time that Mevani was evicted from the Assembly. On Thursday, 18 March, he was asked to leave, citing ‘indiscipline’ after he had raised the same issue.
‘Killed by Mob, In Presence of Policeman’
On March 2, a 50-year-old Dalit man identified as Amrabhai Boricha, a resident of Sanodar in Ghogha taluka of Bhavnagar was allegedly killed by a mob in the presence of a local police sub-inspector.
In 2013, Boricha had filed a complaint under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against three of ten people named as accused in a brawl that took place after some of the ‘upper caste’ men from the village abused him while passing by his house. Since then, the men had been out on bail, but the pressure and harassment had increased for Amrabhai, his daughter recalled. She said that the accused men were constantly pressuring Amrabhai to withdraw the 2013 case.
Mic Turned Off, Evicted
Mevani’s mic was turned off as he demanded the arrest of PSI and asked why the ruling BJP government had not arrested the policeman yet. He also accused Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja for being hand in glove with the policeman.
As Mevani kept repeating the same question and kept interrupting Jadeja, the speaker asked sergeants to evict him from the house.
Taking it to Twitter, Mevani said, “I have been suspended for the day from #GujaratAssembly for demanding action against the culprit of Amrabhai Borecha. 17 days have passed since the chargesheet was filed. Yday, I was asked to leave the Assembly for demanding the same. Who is @vijayrupanibjp govt defending?. (sic)”
(With Inputs from PTI)
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