Patidar reservation protester Kathiriya arrested on sedition charges

Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leader Alpesh Kathiriya was Monday arrested in a 2015 sedition case registered at Amroli police station here, an official said. Kathiriya was held from Velanja village near here, R R Sarvaiya, Surat Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) said.

The case pertains to the quota agitation organised by the PAAS in 2015 demanding reservations for the Patidar community in government jobs and educational institutions. A Surat court had, on January 15, cancelled his bail in this sedition case after police told the court that he had violated bail conditions by abusing police over a parking row. Kathiriya's petition against cancellation of bail is pending in Gujarat High Court. Police said Kathiriya was in the village to attend a friend's marriage when he was held.