Case against Hardik Patel for 'insulting' tri-colour withdrawn

The Gujarat government has withdrawn a case against Patel quota stir leader Hardik Patel in which he was accused of insulting the tri-colour nearly two years ago.
Rajkot collector Vikrant Pandey today said he has passed the order to withdraw the case against Hardik following instructions received from the state government.
"As per the instruction received from the state government (home ministry), we have withdrawn case against Hardik and activists of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) which were registered in the Rajkot district," Pandey said.
Only one FIR was registered against Hardik in the district, he said, adding further formalities will be completed in the court.

Five other cases against PAAS agitators were also withdrawn, the collector added.
On October 19, 2015, Hardik, the convener of the PAAS, was booked for allegedly insulting the tri-colour.
Police had said Hardik jumped over the tri-colour when he was on the way to the Khandheri cricket stadium here to disrupt the India-South Africa ODI match scheduled that day.
According to police, Hardik's feet had touched the national flag which he was carrying as he jumped on a car in an attempt to speak to the media when he was stopped by the police at Madhapar crossroads while on his way to stadium.