A senior Congress party official in India has been detained on charges of insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Following his alleged reference to troubled businessman Gautam Adani when he named Modi “Narendra Gautamdas Modi,” Pawan Khera was detained at the Delhi Airport along with other party members.
Last month, following a report by financial research and short seller firm Hindenburg Research levied accusations of stock market manipulation and fraud on the Adani Group, Adani, one of the richest individuals in the world, had his net worth decrease by half in less than two weeks.
The Adani Group criticised the research, calling it “malicious” and “baseless.”
Adani is seen as a close ally of Modi.
In recent months, Modi has been accused of silencing his critics after the country banned a documentary from the BBC that was critical of the prime minister’s alleged role in deadly riots more than 20 years ago.
Indian tax authorities raided the BBC’s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai earlier this month citing “irregularities and discrepancies” in the BBC’s taxes. The BBC defended its documentary and said it was complying with the tax investigation.
Police from the state of Assam said they had deployed a team to New Delhi to arrest Khera for questioning after a case was registered on Wednesday for his “objectionable remarks about the Prime Minister.”
“[Khera] was trying to disturb the communal harmony in the society, sections of the Indian Penal Code under criminal conspiracy,” Prasanta Kumar Bhuyan, Assam police spokesperson, told CNN.
On Thursday, India’s Supreme Court ordered Khera to be released on interim bail. CNN has not yet been able to reach Khera and his lawyers.
The Congress party labeled Khera’s arrest as “undemocratic,” saying in a statement, “We vehemently oppose this dictatorial behavior.”