Rajpipla (Guj), Jul 11 (PTI) A court in Gujarat's Narmada district on Friday reserved its verdict till July 14 on the bail plea of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Chaitar Vasava, arrested on the charges of attempting to murder a taluka panchayat functionary.
Additional Sessions Judge A V Hirpara reserved the verdict on Vasava's bail application after concluding hearing on both sides, with the state government opposing his plea.
The lawyer for Vasava, who is currently lodged in the Vadodara central jail, said in his submission before the court that the charges levelled against him in the FIR filed at the police station under his Scheduled Tribe-reserved Dediapada constituency in Narmada district were "bogus" and an outcome of a "political rivalry."
"We have argued that the complaint against Vasava is bogus and the section of attempt to murder (109 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) invoked against him is wrong and it was done out of political rivalry," his lawyer Suresh Joshi said.
"The court has reserved its verdict for Monday," he said.
Vasava was arrested on July 5 on the charges of attempt to murder after he allegedly attacked a taluka panchayat president at Dediapada in Narmada, police said on Sunday.
Apart from section 109, he has been booked under sections 79 (insulting the modesty of a woman through words, gestures), 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351 (3) (criminal intimidation), 352 (intentional insult) and 324 (3) (damage to property), etc. of the BNS.
The incident took place during a meeting organised at the prant office in Vasava's constituency Dediapada.
As per the FIR registered at Dediapada police station, Vasava, during the meeting, got agitated after raising objection over his nominee not being considered for appointment as a member of 'Aapno Taluko Vibrant Taluko' (ATVT), a local-level coordination committee.
Vasava allegedly started abusing a woman president of Sagbara taluka panchayat, which was objected to by Dediapada taluka panchayat president Sanjay Vasava, who was part of the meeting.
As per Sanjay Vasava's complaint, the MLA allegedly attacked him by hurling a mobile phone at him, causing injuries on his head.
The legislator also tried to attack the complainant with a glass but was prevented from doing so by the police personnel present there, the FIR said.
However, as the glass broke, the MLA picked up the glass shards and approached Sanjay Vasava and threatened to kill him though the latter somehow managed to escape, it said.
The MLA damaged a chair kept in the office, as per the complaint.
AAP's national convener Arvind Kejriwal claimed the MLA was arrested as the BJP was "furious" after losing to AAP in Visavadar, referring to the recent bypoll in which his party candidate Gopal Italia won.