Hardik Patel gets conditional bail in Visnagar rioting case

The Gujarat High Court on Monday granted anticipatory bail to Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader Hardik Patel in the Visnagar rioting case, on condition that he will not enter Mehsana for nine months.

The court allowed Patel to appeal against its decision to bar him from Mehsana only after the completion of an earlier six-month ban order.

The high court had last week granted bail to Patel in two other sedition cases filed by the Surat and Ahmedabad police after the Patidar agitation turned violent.

He had been booked with sedition charges on October 19 over his provocative remarks where he had asked his supporters to kill policemen rather than commit suicide for the cause of reservation.

Patel was arrested and imprisoned in a jail in Surat after he led a huge revolt of the Patidar community against the ruling BJP Government in the state.

Patel's arrest was followed by large-scale arson and violence by his supporters in some of Gujarat's biggest towns.