A plea challenging a sedition complaint filed against Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel has been rejected by the Gujarat High Court.
The 22-year-old leader of Patel community’s agitation for reservations was arrested on October 19 and booked on sedition charges for allegedly exhorting youngsters from his community to kill policemen rather than committing suicide. The court said today that prima facie, sedition charges hold against Hardik and directed the police to continue further investigation. It has however asked for charges accusing him of creating animosity between groups and communities to be dropped from the complaint.
“If you have so much courage…then go and kill a couple of policemen. Patels never commit suicide,” Hardik had allegedly told Vipul Desai of Surat, who had announced that he would commit suicide in support of the agitation.
His remarks were aired by a local TV channel and shared on social media, sparking a controversy. The petition challenging sedition charges against him was filed by his father Bharat Patel, a BJP worker in Ahmedabad. Five close aides of Hardik Patel have also been booked on sedition charges.
