Vankar kin’s say awaiting Jignesh Mevani’s nod

Since Friday, family members of Bhanubhai Vankar had been sitting in front of the post-mortem room of Gandhinagar Civil Hospital. They had repeatedly said that they would not be accepting the mortal remains of the Dalit activist it the government did not assure them in writing that their demands would be fulfilled.

On Saturday, there was a press conference by Deputy CM Nitin Patel where he assured compensation for the family. A draft of all the demands met by the government was sent to the family on Sunday evening. Vankar’s wife Induben Meuva, sons Bhargav and Dhaval Meuva, and brother Raju Parmar, received the draft and said they would send it to Jignesh Mevani.

“We will make this reach him even though he is in police custody. And unless he gives us a confirmation, we will not accept it,” said Raju Parmar. “Also, even if he accepts the draft, we will not get up from here and won’t accept the body till Jignesh is released from police custody,” he added, speaking from outside the post-mortem room at the hopsital.  

“We will send the draft to Jignesh through WhatsApp and will get his confirmation. He was the person who stayed with us and supported us during this tough time. He is in police custody and we cannot leave him now,” he said.