Jaipur Police deny arresting Hardik Patel

In a tweet, the Gujarat Patidar leader said he was arrested

Gujarat Patidar leader Hardik Patel in a tweet on Friday claimed that he was "arrested" in Jaipur, but the city police have denied it, saying he was only escorted.

Patel earlier said he was arrested on landing at the Jaipur airport but the police officer told him that it was done as a precautionary measure as there were risks to his life.

"Jaipur police cited threats to my life as the reason," Patel said and added he was "taken into custody". He even quoted an unnamed senior police officer as saying that there were "orders from above" to "arrest" him.

However, the police in Jaipur have denied any such arrest.

"We neither arrested nor detained him. We only provided him escort as there were some security concerns," Jaipur (East) Deputy Commissioner of Police Kumwar Rashtradeep said.

"He (Patel) is now on his way to Udaipur where he is living for the last couple of months and has already crossed Ajmer district. If we would have arrested or detained him, would it be possible for him to tweet," the police officer said.