Written by: Express News Service
3 min readJunagadhMay 24, 2009 01:15 AM IST
First published on: May 24, 2009 at 01:15 AM IST
After a series of group clashes occurred between Ahir and Karadiya community men in the district on Friday,over half-a-dozen complaints have been registered in this regard with six police stations. According to the police,the situation is under control at present,but patrolling has been intensified in the troubled areas. No untoward incident occurred on Saturday,they said.
On Friday,after the convoy of BJP MP Dinu Solanki was pelted with stones at Lodhva village near Sutrapada town,the situation suddenly took an ugly turn in the Kodinar area. Things became serious in and around Veraval,Sutrapada,and Keshod towns as members of the Ahir and Karadiya community targeted each other’s business establishments.
According to complaints lodged with different police stations,mob attacks were reported at eight different places in the troubled areas. Former civil supplies minister Jashu Barad’s farmhouse,located on Veraval-Kodinar highway,was vandalised by Ahir community men. They even torched his house,causing damage to the tune of Rs 50,000. The caretaker of the farmhouse has lodged a complaint in this regard with Prabhas Patan police station.
In another incident,Sahjanand petrol pump,located on Keshod-Junagadh highway,was targeted by nearly a dozen motorcycle-borne assailants who set fire to it,causing damage to the tune of Rs 3 lakh. It is owned by Ravi Solanki,the nephew of Dinu Solanki.
In Veraval city,a motorcycle showroom owned by a person belonging to the Karadiya community was looted and damaged by a mob. In a complaint lodged with the Patan police station,one Jitu Mori alleged that the accused named Kamlesh Solanki,Jagmal Ahir and a mob of around 50 vandalised his showroom and looted Rs 15.22 lakh cash. Mori suffered damages to the tune of Rs 6.90 lakh.
In six other complaints lodged with the Kodinar,Patan and Sutrapada police stations on Saturday,complainants alleged mob attacks on their vehicles and business establishments and even on their person.
The police have registered complaints under Sections 143,147,452,395,323,504,506(2),135 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code.
Inspector G H Gohil of Kodinar town police said: “No untoward incident has been reported in the area since Friday night. Additional force from nearby Bhavnagar and Porbander districts has been deployed in the sensitive areas. However,no arrests have been made so far as investigation is on.”
Junagadh Superintendent of Police Maninder Singh Puwar said,“The situation is fully under control. However,strict vigil has been maintained in the sensitive areas.”
Two senior ministers,Vajubhai Vala and Vasan Ahir,have jointly appealed to the people of both the Ahir and Karadiya communities to maintain peace.
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