Rules ignored in arrest of TMC leader who questioned Modi's visit to Morbi, questions on Gujarat Police

Trinamool Congress national spokesperson Saket Gokhale, who questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit after Gujarat's Morbi Kewal bridge accident, was arrested by the Gujarat Police from Rajasthan on Monday night. Other opposition parties including TMC raised questions about this arrest. TMC MP Derek O'Brien said the arrest was made in retaliation. On the other hand, questions are also being raised on the arrest of Saket Gokhale under police rules. According to the rules, the police of a state informs the police of that state before arresting a person from another state and taking its help. But in the case of Saket Gokhale, these rules were ignored.

During the arrest of TMC leader Saket Gokhale, the Gujarat Police did not give any information to the Rajasthan Police. Officials of Gujarat's cyber cell unit told the media on condition of anonymity that the Gujarat police detained TMC leader Saket Gokhale from Jaipur without informing their Rajasthani counterparts.

On reaching Jaipur from Delhi on Monday night, Saket Gokhale was detained by the Gujarat Police at the airport. He was later formally arrested after questioning in Ahmedabad. Saket Gokhale has been accused of spreading fake news about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Saket Gokhale had talked about spending Rs 30 crore on PM Modi's visit to Morbi.

Regarding Gokhale's arrest, Rajasthan Police sources said that they were not informed about the arrest. A source associated with the Cyber Cell of Gujarat Police said that we did not inform the Rajasthan Police team. However, the source says that the legal process was followed during the detention.

A Gujarat Police source said that Saket Gokhale was an accused in a case in the state of Gujarat. The Gujarat police went to Rajasthan and took him into custody. Gokhale was not informed about this or asked to come to Gujarat. We stopped him in Rajasthan and picked him up from there. In the case of Gokhale's arrest, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also accused the BJP.

It may be noted that Saket Gokhale is accused of falsely alleging that Rs 30 crore was spent on PM Modi's visit to Gujarat's Morbi in November. Saket Gokhale tweeted a clip from a Gujarati newspaper and wrote that six times more was spent on Modi's visit than the compensation received by the families of the deceased in the Morbi accident.