Warrant Issued Against Union Minister’s Son for Communal Clashes in Bihar’s Bhagalpur

Bhagalpur: A court here has issued warrants against Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey’s son Arijit Shashwat and eight others for allegedly inciting communal violence in Bhagalpur district last week.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Anjani Kumar Srivastava issued the warrants on Saturday on an application filed by the Nathnagar police, seeking the arrest of the nine persons, who were named in one of the two FIRs lodged in this connection.

“Warrants were also issued against Abhay Kumar Ghosh, Sonu, Pramod Verma Pammy, Dev Kumar Pandey, Sanjay Bhatt, Surendra Pathak, Amit Lal Sah and Pranav Sah alias Pranav Das,” Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Viresh Mishra said.

Bhagalpur Senior Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar said the police had received the copy of the court’s order and all the accused would be arrested soon.

Arijit has been named in the FIR for taking out a procession without prior permission from the administration in Bhagalpur on March 17.

Arijit’s father, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, is the Union minister of state for health and family welfare.

The procession was taken out by the Bharatiya Nav Varsh Jagran Samiti on the eve of the Hindu new year. It had triggered communal tension in the Champa Nagar area under the Nathnagar police station in the district, in which some persons, including two policemen, were injured.

The RJD and the Congress had disrupted the functioning of the Bihar Assembly last week, seeking the arrest of the culprits.

Courtesy: PTI