Mumbai police 'ready to surrender' cartoonist's custody after public outrage

After Maharashtra home minister RR Patil said that police had no grounds to arrest Kanpur-based cartoonist Aseem Trivedi, Mumbai police now say they are ready to surrender his custody.

Trivedi would be produced in court later today for allegedly posting seditious content on his website.

Trivedi was arrested on Saturday on a complaint filed in December, and was produced before a holiday court in Bandra on Sunday, which remanded him in police custody till 16 September.

Police had sought his custody regarding contents on his website and other charges. The court had, last month, issued a non-bailable warrant against him.

The cartoonist's arrest on charges of sedition had  triggered widespread condemnation from media and anti-graft activists, who described it as evidence of a lack of respect for freedom of expression.

The Mumbai police, who arrested Trivedi yesterday, said in court today that it no longer wanted him in custody, meaning that he could be in judicial custody and could apply for bail.