Gujarat Patel Community Seeks OBS Status - Army Called In After 8 Die In Violence Wednesday August 26,2015

 

Army was called in to help control widespread violence sparked by quota agitation by Patel community in Gujarat which has claimed 8 lives even as curfew was clamped in several areas.

Six people were killed in firing by police and paramilitary forces, while two others died following clashes 

Flag marches were held in the city last evening by the Army amid reports of sporadic violence in some parts of the state

Curfew has been clamped in Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Mehasana, Patan, Palanpur, Unjha, Visnagar and Jamnagar towns

Apart from Ahmedabad, two companies of Army were deployed in Surat and another two in Mehasana.

Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Shivanand Jha clamped curfew in nine areas -- Nikol, Bapunagar, Ramol, Odhav, Naroda, Narayanpura, Krishnanagar, Ghatlodia and Vadaj -- following incidents of violence.

In Saurashtra region, bandh was observed in Rajkot, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar and Porbandar. Sporadic violence was reported in all these four districts

About 5,000 paramilitary personnel have also been to brought to Gujarat.

Across Gujarat, a total of 133 companies of State Reserve Police as well as central paramilitary forces including CRPF and BSF had been deployed

Chief Minister Anandiben Patel appealed for peace earlier in the day. "At least 53 companies of paramilitary forces have been called and after sometime we will also deploy Army in various parts of state," she said in a video message

Notwithstanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal for peace, protesters resorted to arson, stone-pelting and attacks on public and private properties. The bandh call given by Patel leaders brought the city to a grinding halt.
In a televised address in Gujarati, the Prime Minister appealed for peace and emphasised that all the issues can be resolved through talks
"I appeal to all brothers and sisters of Gujarat that they should not resort to violence. The only 'Mantra' must be 'Shanti' (peace)," said Modi.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel this morning and assured her full support of the Centre to tackle the situation.

Hardik Patel, the 22-year-old leader of the Patel Anamat Andolan Samiti who is spearheading the agitation, blamed police for the violence and said the agitation will intensify in the coming days.
Denying that the protesters started the violence, he accused the police of trying to "disrupt" the movement at the behest of political establishment.

Schools, colleges, shops, banks remained closed in most places in view of the bandh call given by Hardik after his brief detention last night. Public transport and rail traffic was also affected. Police said agitators uprooted railway tracks in at least eight places in the state.

The diamond and textile industry in Surat remained closed.

Total bandh was observed in most cities in North Gujarat, while in Central Gujarat including Vadodara, and in Anand town, the bandh call evoked a mixed response.