Himachal Pradesh Congress leader arrested in sedition case sent to four days' police remand

SHIMLA: Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Shimla has sent former chief parliamentary secretary and Congress leader Neeraj Bharti, who was under investigation in a sedition case and was arrested by Shimla’s CID crime branch on Friday, to four days of police remand until June 30.
Based on a complaint, Bharti was booked under the charges of sedition, promoting enmity between different groups, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace and statements conducing to public mischief on June 20.
After emerging out of the court on Saturday, Bharti said that the case against him was politically motivated and BJP governments at state and Centre were suppressing the right to expresses one’s views. His lawyer, while interacting with media persons outside the court, said that leveling serious allegations and proving them are two different things. He said that prosecution charges does not hold ground.
He said that police had demanded seven days' remand but after hearing the arguments of both sides, court gave remand till June 30. He said they already have filed bail application in the sessions court.
A case was registered in police station crime branch, CID Shimla on the complaint of Narender Guleria alleging posting of various anti- national and objectionable material on the social media by former MLA Neeraj Bharti.
Bharti was booked under section 124-A (Sedition), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony. Offence committed in place of worship, etc), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief, statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) of IPC.
Police officials said that Neeraj Bharti was summoned for examination at police station crime branch CID Shimla on June 24 and he was examined for three days with effect from June 24 to 26 on various aspects relating to the case. On Friday, he was arrested for investigation purposes in the case.