Patidars protest against Surat councillors, 3 booked

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According to the police, BJP municipal councilors of Puna ward number 19 at Punagam — V D Zalawadia, Manilal Mandavya and Ranjanben Vasoya — along with a few BJP workers and a team of officials from the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) reached Pushpak Society to lay a foundation stone for a new drainage line on Friday evening.

In the meantime, women from the neighbouring residential societies, like Harekrishna and Ayodhyanagar, reached the venue and complained to the councillors about not getting drinking water in spite of making repeated representations to the Varachha Zone office.

A heated exchange followed between the group of women, Jaysukh Thummer, the president of Pushpak Society, and the three councillors who also belong to the Patidar community.

The women took out the steel plates and rolling pins and began clanking. In a fit of rage, Thummer attempted to attack the women, but was stopped by others.
The two groups reached Punagam police station where the arguments continued. The leaders from the Surat wing of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), Vishal Vasoya, Nikhil Sawani and Alpesh Katheria, reached the police station, where a compromise was finally reached and the two groups left without filing a complaint.

However, the police taking note of the event, filed a complaint against three people which included Jaysukh Thummer and two women, Kamla Patel and Nayna Patel — both residents of Harekrishna Society in Punagam.

Punagam police inspector V A Patel said, “We have lodged a complaint under IPC 160 (To commit an affray) against the members of both the societies. The women of Harekrishna Society and Ayodhyanagri had used rolling pins and steel plates to protest against the BJP councillors and municipal officials, complaining that they were not getting drinking water supply for long. We have called all the three accused in the case to the police station.”