Police detain VHP activists on bandh-eve

The Surat police detained around 50 office bearers and leading activists of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal on the eve of the Surat Bandh call on Monday given by the outfit to protest the gang-rape of a schoolgirl by three Muslim youths.

While various organizations and leading citizens had withdrawn the bandh call following transfer of Commissioner Deepak Swaroop, VHP had decided to go ahead with it. The outfit also ignored an appeal by state home minister to withdraw the call.

However, the police had different ideas to ensure the failure of the bandh. Leading activists and office bearers of the outfit were picked up from their respective residences around midnight on Sunday.
Officials said the detentions were made to ensure that workers of the saffron outfit did not resort to violence or create trouble during the bandh call. The detained activists were kept at Palsana police station in Surat district.

Utkarsh Patel, joint secretary, VHP, South Gujarat, who was also taken into custody from his house after midnight, described their detention as undemocratic. "I was sleeping at my house when the police arrived and took me into custody. Our other people taken into custody were also sleeping when they were detained. This is shocking because if we had plans to create trouble during the bandh we would not be sleeping," Patel said.

Patel and the other activists were not released till Monday evening and they were told that they would be released only after state home minister Amit Shah leaves the city.

Meanwhile, the VHP convened a press conference at its office in Bombay Market on Monday evening to criticize the police action. Even as the conference was in progress, a police team arrived there and took Durlabh Bhalada, secretary of VHP Surat, leading Bajrang Dal activist Haresh Thummar, and others in custody. They were taken away amidst protests by other VHP and Bajrang Dal activists. Senior VHP leader, Dinesh Navadia said their office bearers were taken into custody without any valid reason.

However, additional commissioner (Range - I), Shamsher Singh, defended the move, saying the detained persons were trying to instigate people, and their detention was a preventive measure.