Two police personnel were suspended from duty after a selfie of a constable posing with Patidar Anamat Anadolan Samiti (PAAS) leader Hardik Patel went viral on social media.

The Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel currently is being investigated for sedition after the Gujarat High Court rejected his petition challenging the police complaint filed against him in Surat.

The 22-year-old leader of the Patel community was arrested and booked by the police in Surat on sedition charges on 19 October after he extorted Patel youth to kill policemen instead of committing suicide. 

On 24 October, the special crime branch of Gujarat police from Ahmedabad took him under their custody and brought him to the crime branch headquarters - Gaekwad Haveli.

It is reported that it was here that two constables took pictures with Hardik Patel and posted it on their WhatsApp. 

The photo soon went viral on WhatsApp and later it emerged that the detained leader was, in fact, enjoying a celebrity status at the police station.  The two suspended personnel have been identified as Constable Mahendrasinh Javansinh and Head Constable Arun Dale.

The viral photo showed a smiling Hardik sitting in a room of the crime branch office while Javansinh poses with him while talking on the mobile phone. Javansinh had asked Dale to click the picture.

[Source: Ahmedabad Mirror]  

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