Arrested over tweet, filmmaker Avinash Das gets bail
Ahmedabad, Jul 21: Filmmaker Avinash Das, arrested by Gujarat Police in a case related to sharing on Twitter a photo of Union Home Minister Amit Shah with arrested IAS officer Pooja Singhal, was released on bail by a court here on Thursday.
Metropolitan Magistrate M V Chauhan granted bail to Das on the condition that he shall remain present before the Ahmedabad Crime Branch during the first week of every month until the charge sheet is filed.
The crime branch had arrested Das on Wednesday after picking him up from his Mumbai residence a day before.
The filmmaker had also been booked for `insulting national honour' by sharing on Instagram and Facebook a photo of a painting of a woman draped in the national flag. The court had remanded him in the crime branch custody for one day.
When he was produced before the court again on Thursday, Das's lawyer sought bail for him.
The filmmaker did not share on social media any morphed or fake photos, argued advocate Uvesh Malik.
The painting of a woman wearing the tricolor was the original creation of Canada-based artist Nimisha Bhanot and it had been put on display during a seminar in Canada about Indian culture and women, he said.
Das had merely shared the original painting (its photo) in 2017 which did not amount to any crime because the piece of art was not morphed or distorted, advocate Malik argued.
As to the photo of Shah and Singhal, Malik argued that it had been taken during a public function and it had already gone viral when Das tweeted it. Even the crime branch, in the FIR, admitted that the photo was not fake, he said.
Sharing original art and already published photo was no crime, Malik argued.
After hearing the arguments, the magistrate granted bail to Das on a personal bond of Rs 10,000.
Das had directed the 2017 film "Anaarkali of Aarah", starring Swara Bhaskar, Sanjay Mishra and Pankaj Tripathi, and the 2021 movie "Raat Baaki Hai". He had also helmed the Netflix series "She".
The Ahmedabad Crime Branch registered a First Information Report against the filmmaker under section 469 (forgery) of the Indian Penal Code as well as provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act and Information Technology Act over his social media posts. The FIR against 46-year-old Das was registered in June after he shared a photo showing Singhal, who had been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, talking to Shah.
As per the FIR, in the caption with the photo Das claimed the picture was taken a few days before Singhal's arrest, while it was actually from 2017.
This was done with the intention to tarnish Shah's image, the police alleged.
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Cong alleges its Rithala candidate 'assaulted' by EC official
New Delhi, Jan 26 (PTI): The Congress alleged Saturday its Rithala candidate Sushant Mishra was assaulted by a poll official, and demanded a thorough probe into the incident and action against him.
Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed Sushant Mishra was assaulted by an Election Commission of India official on Saturday.
He alleged the official also attempted to prevent Mishra from undertaking a Padayatra for which the Delhi Police had already given permission.
In a post on X, Ramesh said, "@sushant_m has been actively taking up violations of the Model Code of Conduct by other candidates in the ongoing Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections. This unprecedented and illegal act of partisanship by an official of a Constitutional body like the ECI can only be seen as a desperate attempt by the AAP and BJP to stem the surge of support for his candidacy and that of the Congress Party in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections"
Ramesh said the Congress remains undaunted and will continue to raise the voice of people and protect the sanctity of elections.
"To preserve the integrity of the electoral process, the Indian National Congress demands a full inquiry into the incident and immediate corrective action against the concerned official," the Congress leader demanded.
Mishra has also separately written to the returning office and Chief Electoral officer and the Election Commission about the incident, demanding action against the accused.
.@INCIndia के रिठाला विधानसभा के उम्मीदवार सुशांत मिश्रा (@sushant_m) पर कल @ECISVEEP के एक अधिकारी ने हमला करके उन्हें घायल कर दिया। अधिकारी ने उन्हें पदयात्रा करने से रोकने का भी प्रयास किया, जिसके लिए दिल्ली पुलिस ने पहले ही अनुमति दे दी थी।
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) January 26, 2025
सुशांत मिश्रा दिल्ली विधानसभा… pic.twitter.com/sQ7I6EIvvY
