Hardik Patel granted bail, likely to be released from jail tomorrow

Ahmedabad: Former convener of Patidar quota agitation outfit Patidar Anamat Aandolan Samiti (PAAS) and Congress leader Hardik Patel who was arrested five days back after a local court had issued non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him in a sedition case, has been granted bail by the court today.
Hardik has however not been released because of technical reasons, his counsel Rafik Lokhandwala said.
‘We expect that he would be released tomorrow,’ he said.
Meanwhile, police sources said that Hardik would be taken to Siddhpur in Patan district of North Gujarat tomorrow for production in a court there in connection with a case of violation of administrative orders/notification in 2017. He was likely to get bail there and would be released only after that.
Notably the sedition case was lodged by the crime branch of Ahmedabd police for the widespread violence that erupted after his Patidar quota rally here on the GMDC ground on August 25, 2015.
Hardik was arrested from near Hansalpur crossing in his home-taluka of Viramgam of Ahmedabad districts on January 18, the day the NBW was issued by the court of Additional Sessions Judge B J Ganatra. He was sent to jail under judicial custody the same night.The NBW was issued due to his repeated non-appearance on the dates of hearing in the sedition case.
The same court granted him bail.
His counsel said that Hardik would remain present in the court on the next date of hearing ie January 24.
Notably, two of the other accused of the sensational case were his former aides Chirag Patel and Dinesh Bambhaniya.

Hardik was booked in another sedition case in Surat for his alleged provocative suggestion to his aides to kill policemen and he was also on bail in that matter. He was jailed in these cases and had also spent six months outside Gujarat as part of his bail condition. Several government run buses, police stations were torched and other public property including railway tracks damaged during the violence that had erupted after the rally in Ahmedabad. The crime branch of the city police in its charge sheet alleged that Hardik and his aides had spread the violence under a conspiracy.