BJP corporator Akash Raj Purohit has been remanded to judicial custody in connection with a case related to a protest against BEST, after a Mumbai sessions court rejected his application to cancel a non-bailable warrant issued against him.
The case pertains to an agitation in which Purohit was accused of participating in an unlawful protest. A non-bailable warrant had been issued after he allegedly failed to appear before the court during the proceedings.
Purohit approached the sessions court seeking cancellation of the warrant, but the court dismissed his plea. Following the order, he surrendered before the court and was subsequently remanded to judicial custody.
The case will now proceed through the judicial process, with Purohit expected to seek further legal relief in the coming days.
The incident has sparked political reactions, with the BJP criticising the action against its corporator, while the legal proceedings in the matter continue.
The case stems from an agitation held outside the BEST's Colaba Depot in April 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, where BJP leaders, including Akash Raj Purohit, protested demanding dedicated BEST bus services for doctors, nurses and other frontline workers. Police subsequently registered an FIR alleging violations of lockdown norms, unlawful assembly, obstruction of public servants and damage to public property.