Gujarat Minister Pradeepsinh Jadeja reportedly appealed to the migrant workers, who left the state following widespread violence across five district’s including Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Patan, and Ahmedabad in the last one week, to come back.
Large-scale violence had erupted at several places in Gujarat, where the non-Gujarati migrants, people mostly from UP and Bihar were targeted following the alleged rape of a minor girl in the state by a migrant worker. These attacks were instigated by hate messages against people from UP and Bihar being circulated on social media.
Following the attack (which the police later confirmed was instigated by a Congress leader) hordes of people from the two north Indian states have been leaving the state via buses and trains.
Gujarat Home Minister, Pradeepsinh Jadeja confirming that more than 450 arrests of people responsible for the attacks on the migrants have been made so far said, “It is our responsibility to provide security to those who come to Gujarat for employment from other states. We are very serious about resuming the law and order in the state. We have filed 35 FIRs (First Information Reports) in this case.”
The Gujarat police have brought the situation in control by tightening security in the disturbed areas with regular patrolling and by pushing in more personnel.
The appeal to the migrants came after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar approached his Gujarat counterpart Vijay Rupani to punish the people who have been targetting the migrant population.
“I would like to appeal that please don’t punish the rest of the people for the crime. Please punish those guilty but don’t spread the hatred against others,” said Nitish Kumar to Gujarat CM.
Gujarat had been clinched in large-scale violence as reports emerged that a person from Bihar has allegedly raped a Gujarati Thakor minor girl in a Thakor dominant village. It was reported that Kshatriya Thakor Sena instigated revenge violence against people from Bihar and UP working in the state, in various industries as well as people working as street vendors.
Later evidence came up which proved that it was the members of the Kshatriya Thakor Sena, headed by Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor, who had started the violence against non-Gujaratis.
Police later recovered a video footage where a man was seen threatening non-Gujaratis. Police then identified the person and confirmed that he was MV Thakore, a local leader of the Congress party and elected Taluka Panchayat member, who was seen threatening non-Gujarati people of massive violence if they don’t leave the state.
Evidence has emerged, however, which appear to confirm the role of the Thakor Sena in the said attacks. Meanwhile, Congress MLA and Sena leader Alpesh Thakor have announced that he will sit on an indefinite ‘Sadbhavna fast’ from the 11th of October demanding the withdrawal of ‘false cases’ against the members of Gujarat Kshatriya Thakor Sena (GKTS) following the instances of violence in the state.
