Ashish Joshi, a newly-elected Congress corporator of Ward 15 in Vadodara, Gujarat, was remanded to one-day police custody following his arrest under the Prohibition Act. The case escalated after Joshi, a former BJP leader, was implicated in a liquor smuggling operation linked to a man arrested with 299 bottles of foreign liquor. Joshi alleges that the charges are part of a politically motivated conspiracy aimed at silencing him due to his vocal criticism of the ruling BJP and his advocacy for victims of the Harni boat tragedy, which claimed 14 lives, including students and teachers. His lawyer, Hitesh Gupta, argues that the arrest is illegal and based on an alleged confession from the co-accused, which he contends is inadmissible in court. The timing of the FIR, filed just before local elections, has raised suspicions about its intentions. Joshi has publicly called for justice and accountability concerning the Harni tragedy and has offered to undergo scientific tests to prove his innocence. The case has attracted significant political attention, with local Congress leaders expressing concerns about the misuse of state machinery against political opponents.