By IANS,
Lucknow : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi, currently in prison for his reported hate speeches, Sunday refused to meet the investigating officer who visited Etah jail to record his statement in connection with the cases lodged against him.
“He (Varun) said that he will only talk to officials in the presence of his lawyer,” Bali Ram Rao, the investigating officer from Pilibhit, told reporters.
Rao also met Etah District Magistrate Gaurav Dayal after visiting the jail.
“As the cases against Varun are lodged in Pilibhit, the further course of action will be decided from there,” Dayal told reporters after meeting Rao.
The Uttar Pradesh government had last Sunday invoked the National Security Act against Varun, the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Pilibhit, for his hate speeches and the mob violence that erupted during his arrest the previous day.
Varun was shifted from Pilibhit to Etah jail April 1 due to “security concerns” cited by the state government.