Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale on Friday got bail from a local court in a case related to a tweet allegedly posted by him about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Morbi bridge collapse site. He got relief from the court in the second arrest as he was held by Morbi police hours after getting bail in the first incident.
The TMC leader was first arrested on Tuesday by Ahmedabad cyber crime police in the case for allegedly spreading fake news, and after he got bail on Thursday, Morbi police arrested him for the same offence.
On Friday, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate D K Chandrani granted bail to Gokhale on a bail bond of Rs 15,000 in the second case.
“PM Modi's visit to Morbi cost Rs 30 crore”- Tweeted by Gokhale
On December 1, Gokhale shared a news clipping which cited a purported Right to Information query to claim that PM Modi's visit to Morbi after the bridge collapse tragedy on October 30 cost Rs 30 crore.
On Tuesday morning, the Press Information Bureau tweeted that the information was fake. The news clipping appeared to be of a local Gujarati newspaper. The prime minister had visited Gujarat on November 1, a day after a colonial-era suspension bridge on the Machchu river in Morbi town collapsed, leaving 135 people dead. The First Information Report (FIR) filed against Gokhale in Ahmedabad accused him of forgery and printing defamatory content.
Gokhale’s arrest triggered BJP Vs TMC politics
The arrest of TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale provided fresh ammo to West Bengal Chief Minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee against Bhartiya Janta Party as she attacked the Centre. She backed Gokhale and said that she condemned the BJP government’s "vindictive attitude".
"It's a very bad, and sad (incident). Saket (Gokhale) is a bright man. He is very popular on social media. He has made no mistake," Banerjee told reporters at Jaipur airport.
"I condemn this vindictive attitude. He (Saket) has been arrested because he tweeted against the Prime Minister. People also tweet against me...We are really feeling sorry about the situation," she said before heading for Pushkar.
What Police Said
Gokhale was apprehended from Jaipur in Rajasthan during the early hours by officials of the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Cell, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Cyber Crime, Jitendra Yadav said.
"Based on a complaint we received from a citizen, an FIR has been lodged against Gokhale for spreading fake news about the PM's visit to Morbi. We detained him from Jaipur today morning and he is being brought here for further legal process," Yadav said, adding a formal arrest will be made after a COVID-19 test.
The FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code Sections 465, 469, 471 (all pertaining to forgery) and 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory), police said.
Gokhale, 35, the spokesperson of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, underwent a heart surgery recently and was on a private visit to Jaipur, sources said.
ACP Jadhav said, "When we contacted Gujarat Samachar, the management told us this news was never published and it was totally fake and created by someone to look authentic. Thus, we have detained Gokhale for spreading fake news.
(With agency input)
