Lodged at the Sabarmati Central Prison since four days, the 93 AAP workers and 10 college students face charges under 22 sections of the IPC, including criminal conspiracy, and sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. About 65 male- accused in the group, also face sexual harassment charges. The 28 women accused obtained conditional bail Friday and will be released soon, stated the party’s legal counsel.
According to court documents, six of those arrested are between 18 and 19 years of age. AAP leaders said four of the ten students arrested are members of Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), the party’s student wing, while six belong to its youth wing. The CYSS members arrested include Yatin Jiyani (19), an engineering student at Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management, Anmol Vaghasiya (18), a student of computer applications at Lokmanya Group of Colleges, and Anuj Shah(19), a BBA student at New LJ Group of College — all are based in Ahmedabad.
The youth wing members include Mahendrasinh Zala (19), Haresh Solanki (19) and Mahir Shaikh (19).
Yatin’s father Arvind Jiyani said: “We heard the news of my son’s arrest on TV. He had gone along with other party workers to the protest site. We were aware of his political affiliation.” Anmol’s parents live in Junagadh and could not be reached while Anuj’s parents declined comment.
Booking student activists under such sections could have a detreimental to their future. Defence lawyers added that all put together, these charges could lead to jail terms of up to seven years.
“Today, we have secured bail for the 28 women on the condition that their passports will be seized and they cannot enter the territory within the Infocity police station area in Gandhinagar where the FIR is lodged. The bail hearing of the remaining 65 male accused will be heard Monday,” said Pranav Thakkar, AAP’s legal counsel.
On Monday, the students were among about 500 supporters of AAP who staged a protest outside the Shree Kamalam office of the BJP in Gandhinagar. They demanded the removal of Asit Vora, BJP leader and chairman of Gujarat Subordinate Service Selection Board (GSSSB), which conducted the exam to recruit head clerks.
The written exam was held on December 12, with 88,000 aspirants appearing for 186 vacancies. AAP alleged that the question paper was leaked and sold in advance for Rs 8-12 lakhs. While the government later annulled the exam and rescheduled it for March 2022, the police arrested 18 accused in the racket.
But Monday’s protest led to a clash between AAP and BJP workers following which the police resorted to a lathicharge to disperse the protesters. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a CYSS member, who was part of the protest, said: “We were protesting peacefully when BJP workers and police started charging towards us. Many of our workers rushed to the parked bus in which they had arrived. I ran from the venue. Later, police intercepted the bus and arrested all those inside.” The AAP, however, has not filed any counter complaint in the incident.
