Union minister’s son arrested
Union minister for Health and Family welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey's son Arijit Shashwat, was arrested on Sunday over his alleged involvement in recent communal clashes in Bhagalpur, and remanded to 14-day judicial custody.
Arjit, who was brought to Bhagalpur from Patna, was taken to the residence of the CJM as it was a court holiday on account of Sunday.
Earlier, he went to a Hanuman temple outside Patna late Saturday night and after offering prayers claimed he was surrendering before the police. He denied he was absconding and claimed he was waiting for the orders of the Bhagalpur district and sessions court where he had applied for anticipa tory bail, which was rejected by the court on Saturday.
He alleged the FIR lodged at Bhagalpur's Nathnagar police station was fabricated and he had no hand in inciting communal tension in the tension .He was leading a procession of party activists and devotees during the Hindu new year celebrations when the police charged him with inflammatory speeches and slogans which lit the communal fires.
Arjit had unsuccessfully contested the 2015 assembly elections on a BJP ticket. On Sunday, he accused his counterpart Congress MLA Suresh Sharma of fomenting communal trouble to defame the BJP.
Union Minister Chaubey has said that the FIR needs to be trashed and alleged that some local police officers had a hand in framing his son.