Flaunting BJP connection, man thrashes Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation bus driver

RAJKOT: Dramatic scenes were witnessed at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) depot when the drivers went on flash strike after one of their colleagues was thrashed by a drunk man on Wednesday.
The bus driver Mahendra Vanzara, 55, a resident of Gondal town, lodged a complaint against the assailant Arif Kalva, president of the minority cell of a lesser known outfit Narendra Modi Vichar Manch. Kalva intercepted the Mount Abu-Gondal bus that was entering Rajkot thrice - first at Delux Chowk then at Hospital Chowk and finally at Trikon Baug.The ST buses halt at these spots to alight passengers.
Kalva, who was returning to Rajkot from Gandhinagar, kept honking continuously and Vanzara even gave him the side to overtake at Delux Chowk. However, Kalva parked his car in front of the bus and picked up a fight with the driver. He started hurling expletives and then thrashed Vanzara with a hockey stick.
Vanzara told police that Kalva continued to follow him till Hospital Chowk, where he again started threatening him saying that he was a BJP leader. Kalva then followed the bus till the depot where he again created ruckus and thrashed some other GSRTC staffer also. He also snatched the conductor's ticket machine and said that he would return it only after meeting Vanzara.
The staff immediately called up the police which detained him.
Taking a serious note of such hooliganism, GSRTC's Rajkot division intervened and assured all action against Kalva. The bus drivers and conductors resumed work after an hour of flash strike.
Meanwhile, Rajkot city BJP was quick to deny Kalva's association with BJP. "He is nowhere associated with BJP. He is not even a primary member of the party. We have talked to senior police officers on Wednesday and demanded that he gets maximum punishment," said Kamlesh Mirani, city BJP president.
Police later took out a procession of Kalva, who had tried to show off his political links with Modi's photo, and made him do sit-ups. They also forced him to publicly apologize for his behaviour.