Abhijit Iyer-Mitra granted bail, hours after arrest for ‘hurting’ Odia sentiments

Commentator and journalist Abhijit Iyer-Mitra was on Thursday granted bail, hours after being arrested for his alleged derogatory remarks about the state of Odisha and the Sun Temple.

He was reportedly detained under Section 295A for posting a satirical video about the Sun Temple.

Earlier, his lawyer told ANI that he had been taken to Nizamuddin Police Station. He was told that a case has been registered against him in Odisha. 

“Abhijit Iyer has been taken to Nizamuddin police station. He has been told that a case has been registered against him in Odisha. He hasn't been told what the case is or who has registered it. He hasn't been given a copy of the FIR. He's being taken to Saket court for remand. We're going there to oppose it," his lawyer told ANI. 

"We haven't even been given a copy of the FIR, so we can't say what the offences are, who the complainant is or under what sections case has been registered,” he said. 

Odisha 9: my special message to you from the Konark temple expressing my utter disgust at this monumental conspiracy against the Hindu Civilisation pic.twitter.com/wJeqZPHRDk

— Abhijit Iyer-Mitra (@Iyervval) September 16, 2018

According to his profile on ORF: “Iyer is a senior fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies. He used to coordinate the National Security Programme at ORF. Abhijit has been a visiting fellow at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, and the Stimson centre in Washington DC. Abhijit is a defence economist by training. He has written for national and international dailies and has several academic publications and books.”

Iyer’s statements were discussed in Odisha State assembly with ruling party members Samir Ranjan Dash and Byamokesh Ray raked up the issue related to the alleged derogatory statement Abhijit Iyer-Mitra on the Sun Temple at Konark and Lord Jagannath.

Legislators of ruling BJD and opposition Congress had demanded action against Abhijit Iyer Mitra for making ‘derogatory remarks on the Sun Temple in Konark.

The ruling party members staged a dharna in the well of the House and later near Mahatma Gandhi statue on the assembly premises.

In a video uploaded on social media, Mitra is seen criticising the 13th Century temple. Apart from his video on Sun Temple, Mitra also uploaded videos of himself flying around the Sun Temple and the Jagannath Temple in Puri on social media.

(With inputs from PTI)