A resurgent agitation of Patidar reservation movement turned violent on Sunday after police and mob clashed at a Patidar community rally in Mehsana, which has been the epicentre of the Patidar reservation agitation.

Jail bharo andolan

Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), a group spearheading the Patidar reservation agitation in Gujarat had called for ‘jail bharo andolan’ (throng to jails) in places such as Mehsana, Surat, Rajkot and parts of Gandhinagar-Ahmedabad.

The agitators reportedly raised slogans against the Anandiben Patel-led Bharatiya Janata Party Government during the rally and tried to rush to district Police headquarters demanding release of their leader Hardik Patel, who is under arrest on charges of sedition.

Following this, police put over 400 agitators under arrest and allegedly used force to prevent them from heading forward. One of the Patidar leaders and head of Sardar Patel Group (SPG) Lalji Patel was allegedly thrashed by the police and was put under arrest. Angered by the move, the PAAS called for ‘Gujarat Bandh’ on Monday.

BSF deployment

Even as the police arrested senior leaders, agitating youth resorted to vandalism of public property and damaged police vehicles.

Meanwhile, BSF has been deployed in sensitive parts of Mehsana.

As a fall-out of the violence, the administration in districts of Surat, Rajkot and Mehsana suspended mobile Internet services, while curfew has been imposed till Monday morning 6 a.m. in Mehsana town. Police has been put on alert in other sensitive places across the State.

The firebrand Patidar reservation leader, Hardik Patel, was arrested by Surat Police in October last year on sedition charges, he has been under arrest since then.

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