NBW against son of Union minister

UNION HEALTH MINISTER ASHWINI CHOUBEY’S SON HAD LED A HINDI NEW YEAR PROCESSION WHICH ‘SPARKED OFF’ COMMUNAL VIOLENCE

BHAGALPUR: A local court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Arjit Shashwat Choubey, son of Union minister Ashwini Choubey, and eight others in connection with the recent communal violence in Nathnagar.

The court of additional chief judicial magistrate late on Saturday issued the arrest warrant on the plea of Nathnagar police. Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manoj Kumar confirmed this. The petition for arrest warrant was submitted in court along with the case diary in the last hour on Saturday following which the warrant was issued.

Arjit had been named in the first FIR lodged against those participating in a procession organised by Nav Varsh Ayojan Samiti to mark the beginning of new year as per Hindi calendar.

The procession, led by the minister’s son, had allegedly sparked communal violence in the city’s Nathnagar and Champanagar areas, police said. More than 400 unknown people were also made accused in the FIR. All were charged with taking out the procession without prior permission from the district officials, and of arousing communal passions by playing objectionable songs and raising slogans, leading to a flare up, officials said. In another FIR lodged in connection with the clashes, 10 people were named along with 500 unknown people.

An earlier move by the police last Wednesday to seek arrest warrant had received a jolt when the court directed police to file relevant papers concerning all those named in the FIRS together.

Sources said those named in the warrant include Abhay Kumar Ghosh alias Sonu Ghosh, Dev Kumar Pandey, Pramod Kumar Verma, Niranjan Singh, Surendra Pathak, Sanjay Bhatt, Pranav Sah, Anup Lal Sah and Pranav Das. Police are likely to step up efforts to execute arrest warrants after the Ram Navami.