Former Chhattisgarh MLA Amit Jogi was arrested in Bilaspur on Tuesday for allegedly giving false details in his affidavit in the 2013 Assembly elections, Hindustan Times reported. Jogi, the son of former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, had won his campaign from the Marwahi Assembly seat in 2013, and represented the constituency till last year.

The case for the false affidavit was filed in February by Sameera Paikra, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate who lost against him in 2013. Jogi was arrested after a six-month investigation, PTI reported.

Jogi was booked under Sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the Indian Penal Code, Bilaspur Superintendent of Police Prashant Agarwal told Hindustan Times.

The police alleged Jogi had lied in his election affidavit about his birth certificate while filing nomination during 2013 state polls. “The case was investigated by Bilaspur police and on Tuesday morning he was arrested,” Paikra said.

In 2014, Paikra had filed a writ petition with Chhattisgarh High Court and challenged Jogi’s caste and place of birth. In January, the court dismissed the petition saying that Chhattisgarh Assembly term for which Jogi was elected had already ended.

His father Ajit Jogi alleged that his son was being framed. “This is vendetta politics and they are framing my son and me in false cases,” Jogi said. “Not a single case will stand in the court of law.”

The action came days after the police had registered a case against Ajit Jogi after a government-appointed panel concluded that he is not from the Adivasi community. At present, Ajit Jogi represents Marwahi in the state Assembly. The seat is reserved for Adivasi communities, and Jogi is likely to lose it.

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