Sedition charges: Police custody of Hardik's aides extended till Nov 1

Ahmedabad: A local court on Thursday sent three close aides of the Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel to further police custody in connection with a case of sedition and waging war against the government.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate B L Choithani extended the remand of Dinesh Patel, Chirag Patel and Ketan Patel, all members of the `Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti', till November 1. The crime branch had sought their custody for seven more days.

The court also refused to grant temporary bail of two days to Dinesh Patel and Chirag Patel. Their lawyer B M Mangukia had sought the bail saying they needed to be out of jail for preparing an affidavit, to be filed before the High Court in connection with a habeas corpus plea alleging `abduction' of Hardik Patel last month.

The crime branch, seeking further remand of the three, said they hadn't revealed much information about sources of funding and the persons behind the agitation.

Prosecutor Y K Vyas said the three accused had not told the probe agency about the responsibility given to various PAAS leaders in different parts of the state, the source of funds for the August 25 rally here, etc.

The police also wanted to find out identity of persons figuring in telephonic conversations with PAAS members, the prosecutor said.

PAAS members had removed CCTV cameras from several places before resorting to violence and arson, he alleged.

However, advocate Mangukia said the police were looking for those who supported the quota agitation only to "throttle their voice".