Abhijit Iyer Mitra, who was jailed in Odisha for 'derogatory remarks' called up prison guards to check on them after Cyclone Fani. Here's how they replied

Defence Analyst Abhijit Iyer Mitra who was jailed in 2018 for allegedly making 'derogatory remarks' about Kornark Temple by Odisha Police, said that he called up and messaged the prison guards to check on them in the aftermath of Cyclone Fani.

Iyer Mitra wrote on Twitter said that he had been in touch with the guards (with whom he had become good friends) for sometime following Cyclone Fani and asked them if they needed any help. But the guards had a worry of their own about Iyer Mitra.

'Over the week, I’ve been calling up/ Watsapping the jail guards (with whom I became very good friends) at Jharpada (Odisha) asking them if they needed any help post cyclone. To a man they said no “but we hope you’ve started eating properly & stop drinking coke”,' he said.

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Mitra was released from jail in Bhubaneswar on December 6 after Orissa High Court granted him bail. He was arrested for allegedly making derogatory remarks on the Konark Temple. The bail order by the High Court came after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led Odisha government decided not to accord sanction to prosecute the analyst in certain criminal cases and said that it would also take steps to withdraw other criminal cases pending against him.

On September 16 this year, Mitra during a visit to the century-old Konark Temple posted a satirical video on Twitter allegedly insulting Odisha, its culture, tradition and state legislators.

He later wrote an apology letter to the House Committee of Vidhan Sabha and the Speaker of the Odisha Assembly over his sarcastic remarks and other offences he was accused of.

Mitra was first arrested by the Odisha Police on September 20 from Delhi on the charges of hurting religious sentiments. A Delhi court later granted him bail against a bond of Rs 1 lakh and directed him to join the investigation at Konark police station. He moved the Supreme Court for bail, where his plea had been quashed. 

READ | Jail Time Has "heightened My Senses": Abhijit Iyer Mitra, Back On Twitter, Makes Light Of His Ordeal