Naresh Meena surrenders in Tonk after bail revoked in SDM assault case

Naresh Meena, the Congress rebel leader accused of slapping a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) during the Deoli-Uniara Assembly by-election in November 2024, surrendered at Nagar Fort police station in Rajasthan’s Tonk district on Thursday. His surrender followed the cancellation of his bail by a special court earlier this month for violating bail conditions.

The 45-year-old leader was produced before the Special Judge (SC/ST Atrocities) court in Tonk, which remanded him to judicial custody. A large number of supporters gathered outside the police station and the court, raising slogans in his support. The administration imposed prohibitory orders in the area to prevent any untoward incident.

The Rajasthan High Court had granted conditional bail to Mr. Meena on July 11, 2025, after nearly nine months in jail. However, the Special SC/ST Court in Tonk cancelled his bail on July 13, citing violation of conditions following his subsequent arrest during a protest in Jhalawar. The court also issued arrest warrants against him.

As directed by the court to arrest Mr. Meena and produce him by Thursday, he chose to surrender voluntarily. He travelled from Jaipur in a procession of supporters before turning himself in at the Nagar Fort police station. His supporters accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of trying to curb his growing popularity by keeping him behind bars ahead of the upcoming Panchayati Raj elections.

The case against Mr. Meena stems from an incident on November 13, 2024, when he allegedly slapped SDM Amit Chaudhary at a polling station in Samrawata village during the Deoli-Uniara by-election. Mr. Meena, contesting as an independent candidate, said he acted after alleging irregularities in voting. He accused the SDM of forcing villagers to cast votes despite their boycott call and taking at least three fake voters inside the polling booth.

Following the incident, violence and arson broke out in the area. Two dozen two-wheelers and 18 four-wheelers, including police vehicles, were set on fire. Senior police officers from Tonk arrived in full gear and arrested Mr. Meena from a dharna site in Samrawata the next day. His supporters also blocked several roads in the district during the protests.

The villagers of Samrawata had announced a boycott of polling in support of their demand to shift their village from Nagar Fort to Uniara tehsil in revenue records, citing distance issues. In the by-election, BJP’s Rajendra Gurjar defeated Mr. Meena by a margin of 41,121 votes.

Mr. Meena, who was suspended by the Congress party, also contested the Assembly by-election at Anta in Baran district in November 2025. He made the contest triangular, finishing a close third with just 159 votes less than the BJP candidate, Morpal Suman. The Congress candidate, Pramod Jain, won that seat.