Hardik, his aide get 3-day police custody in assault case

Ahmedabad  : A magisterial court in Patan district remanded Patidar quota spearhead Hardik Patel and his close aide Dinesh Bambhania to three-day police custody in connection with an assault and dacoity case registered against them on Sunday. Judicial Magistrate of Patan Court, V K Solanki, sent the duo to police custody after they were presented before him at his residence late last night.

Patan police, who had formally arrested them yesterday morning, had sought a 10-day custody. The magistrate granted three days of remand that will end at 5 pm on September 1. One Narendra Patel, who claimed to be associated with Hardik Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) had filed a complaint against Hardik, Bambhania and six to seven other supporters of Hardik at Patan ‘B’ Division police station on Sunday.

On the basis of the complaint, the police had registered a case against them under IPC sections 395 (dacoity), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506-2 (criminal intimidation) and 147 (rioting). A day after the complaint was lodged, Hardik and Bambhania were detained from Anand and Rajkot respectively on Monday and then handed over to Patan police, who formally arrested them yesterday morning.

In the complaint, Narendra Patel had alleged that the quota stir spearhead and others roughed him up at Navjivan Hotel in Patan, when he along with three other persons associated with the PAAS had gone to meet them on Saturday ahead of Hardik’s rally in Patan that day.

Narendra alleged in the complaint that Hardik and others snatched a gold chain from his friend Dilip Patel and also broke his mobile phone following an argument over the quota stir. He also alleged that they were attacked as per a conspiracy hatched by Hardik and others.

Narendra further alleged that when he and three others went to attend the rally despite getting roughed up at the hotel, Bambhania took them behind the stage and allegedly threatened them.