On Tuesday (July 19) morning, filmmaker Avinash Das was picked up by the crime branch of Gujarat police. The development was confirmed by director Ashwini Chaudhary.
The arrest comes days after he posted a picture of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and insinuated that he is hand-in-gloves with scam-tainted Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Pooja Singhal.
While talking about the matter, Ashwini Chaudhary tweeted, “Director friend Avinash Das was arrested today morning by (the) crime branch of Gujarat Police. His anticipatory bail application is pending in Supreme Court.”
Director friend #AvinashDas @avinashonly was arrested today morning by crime branch of Gujarat Police . His anticipatory bail application is pending in Supreme Court . #ISTANDWITHAVINASHDAS pic.twitter.com/qlDw1wVQ9N
— DHOOPASHWINI (@DhoopAshwini) July 19, 2022
Das had also posted a painting, insulting the national flag. The Ahmedabad Crime Branch filed a case against him under section 469 of the IPC and section 67 of the IT Act, as well as a section related to respect for national symbols.
The Mumbai-based filmmaker has a history of spreading fake news on social media. In October 2018, he shared a photoshopped image of Samit Patra and claimed that the BJP spokesperson referred to farmers as ‘Gaddar’ (traitors).
Patra was quick to debunk the fake image and clarified that he did not hold any such press conference. He also asked Twitter to take ‘stringent action’ against the director.
No such Press Conference was ever held by @BJP4India
— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) October 4, 2018
This is a photoshopped,fake news propagated by a verified Twitter handle to further vested interests & cause disharmony in the country
I sincerely request @TwitterIndia to take stringent action against the verified handle! https://t.co/tU0w2SCrpL
Avinash Das, the Mumbai-based filmmaker, is known for directing the 2017 film “Anaarkali Of Aarah” starring Swara Bhaskar, Sanjay Mishra, and Pankaj Tripathi. He also directed Raat Baaki Hai, which was released in 2021, and Netflix series ‘She‘.
