A court in Bihar on Monday granted bail to Arijit Shashwat, the son of Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who was arrested on April 1 for inciting communal clashes in Bhagalpur district in March. The court had rejected his bail application on April 3.

Shashwat was taken into custody in Patna hours after a court in Bhagalpur had rejected his anticipatory bail petition. The court had issued an arrest warrant against him on March 19.

Shashwat was named in one of the two cases filed in connection with the communal clashes in Bhagalpur’s Nathnagar area on the occasion of Hindu New Year on March 17. He was booked for “inciting communal sentiments and roaming on roads while displaying arms” during the processions.

On March 17, violence had broken out during a procession organised by the Bharatiya Navvarsh Jagran Samiti to mark the Hindu New Year. The procession, which Shashwat led, allegedly passed through at least six Muslim-dominated areas, with the participants shouting provocative slogans that local authorities said could have triggered the violence.