Patels shut down Gujarat: 7 killed in violence
Ahmedabad Mirror Bureau
Curfew clamped in Ahmedabad, other cities; army called in; protesters claim cops broke into houses, thrashed them; PM Modi appeals for peace.
The agitation for reservation by the Patidar community was marked by widespread violence in Gujarat on Wednesday, claiming seven lives in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, even as curfew was imposed in major cities and towns.
A day after the Patidar mega-rally pressing for reservations in education and jobs for the influential Patel community, the state-wide bandh call by the Patel AAS (PAAS) received near-total response.
Curfew was clamped in Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Mehsana, Patan, Palanpur, Unjha, Visnagar and Jamnagar even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for peace.
While two persons were killed in firing by paramilitary forces in Banaskantha, five were reported dead in violence and 100 people, including police and mediapersons, were injured in Ahmedabad.
The deceased were identified as Nimesh Patel of Sola, Vedant Patel of Bapunagar, Girish Patel and his son Siddharth of Vastral. Ketan Patel from Surat died of injuries sustained during a police lathi charge at GMDC ground on Tuesday evening.
Vedant, 20, had been arrested from his house in Matrushakti Society and thrashed by cops. “We admitted him to Shardaben Hospital, but he died during treatment on Wednesday morning,” Bapunagar PI PD Parmar said.
Mobs target police
There were several attacks on policemen. Around 9.30 pm, a mob gheraoed a PCR van near Patidar Chowk in K K Nagar, dragged two cops out and beat them up.
Meanwhile, 15 cops inside Ghatlodia police station were surrounded by a mob of 1,500. The cops had to fire 12 rounds in the air and use teargas shells and a hand grenade to keep the mob at bay.
Another mob set ablaze six stolen vehicles kept in the compound of Vadaj police station. The fire brigade brought it under control before it could reach the CNG pipeline laid along the station compound wall.
On Tuesday around 9 pm, SRP jawakSanathsinh Rathod and his two colleagues were safeguarding the houses of judges opposite the Gujarat High Court when a mob of 400 people attacked his tent.
He received several injuries and fled leaving behind his rifle. The mob also set the Sola Bhagwat police chowky on fire.
An angry mob also tried to burn Saraspur police chowky and Meghaninagar Rameshwaram police chowky. At GST crossing near Arpana School, a mob pelted stones at cops, forcing them to fire four teargas shells.
“A mob stormed the Ramol police station between 10 pm and 12.30 am, setting afire property, vehicles on the road and an AMTS bus. They also tried to throw four policemen into the burning bus after snatching away an AK-47 rifle. They tried to open fire on the cops so we retaliated by firing in the air as a warning, then on the crowd,” PSI FA Parghi, who filed a rioting complaint against a mob of 10,000 people, said.
Curfew clamped in Ahmedabad, other cities; army called in; protesters claim cops broke into houses, thrashed them; PM Modi appeals for peace.
The agitation for reservation by the Patidar community was marked by widespread violence in Gujarat on Wednesday, claiming seven lives in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, even as curfew was imposed in major cities and towns.
In the violence that erupted on Tuesday night after Patidar leader Hardik Patel was arrested, cops claimed the Patels had resorted to arson, stone-pelting and vandalism, while the latter alleged the police broke into their houses and thrashed them mercilessly, damaged their vehicles and threw stones at houses in Patel-dominated societies in Nikol, Bapunagar and Shahibaug in Ahmedabad.
A day after the Patidar mega-rally pressing for reservations in education and jobs for the influential Patel community, the state-wide bandh call by the Patel AAS (PAAS) received near-total response.
Curfew was clamped in Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Mehsana, Patan, Palanpur, Unjha, Visnagar and Jamnagar even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for peace.
While two persons were killed in firing by paramilitary forces in Banaskantha, five were reported dead in violence and 100 people, including police and mediapersons, were injured in Ahmedabad.
The deceased were identified as Nimesh Patel of Sola, Vedant Patel of Bapunagar, Girish Patel and his son Siddharth of Vastral. Ketan Patel from Surat died of injuries sustained during a police lathi charge at GMDC ground on Tuesday evening.
Vedant, 20, had been arrested from his house in Matrushakti Society and thrashed by cops. “We admitted him to Shardaben Hospital, but he died during treatment on Wednesday morning,” Bapunagar PI PD Parmar said.
Mobs target police
There were several attacks on policemen. Around 9.30 pm, a mob gheraoed a PCR van near Patidar Chowk in K K Nagar, dragged two cops out and beat them up.
Meanwhile, 15 cops inside Ghatlodia police station were surrounded by a mob of 1,500. The cops had to fire 12 rounds in the air and use teargas shells and a hand grenade to keep the mob at bay.
Another mob set ablaze six stolen vehicles kept in the compound of Vadaj police station. The fire brigade brought it under control before it could reach the CNG pipeline laid along the station compound wall.
On Tuesday around 9 pm, SRP jawakSanathsinh Rathod and his two colleagues were safeguarding the houses of judges opposite the Gujarat High Court when a mob of 400 people attacked his tent.
He received several injuries and fled leaving behind his rifle. The mob also set the Sola Bhagwat police chowky on fire.
An angry mob also tried to burn Saraspur police chowky and Meghaninagar Rameshwaram police chowky. At GST crossing near Arpana School, a mob pelted stones at cops, forcing them to fire four teargas shells.
“A mob stormed the Ramol police station between 10 pm and 12.30 am, setting afire property, vehicles on the road and an AMTS bus. They also tried to throw four policemen into the burning bus after snatching away an AK-47 rifle. They tried to open fire on the cops so we retaliated by firing in the air as a warning, then on the crowd,” PSI FA Parghi, who filed a rioting complaint against a mob of 10,000 people, said.
