Gurjjar leader heads for talks

Though the state Goverment offered to fly him down in a chopper, given the road blockages along the way, Bainsla refused. He said he preferred to take the road, and asked for escort.

Speaking to The Indian Express before he left for Jaipur, Bainsla said: “I have only one agenda — that the state government give us a written assurance.”

In another sign that peace might prevail, bodies of six persons who died in the police firing at Peeplikheda on Tuesday morning were finally cremated today afternoon.

Gurjjar protestors burnt Raje’s effigy after the cremation. They also announced that as part of the 12th-day ceremony for the six dead, condolence meetings would be held in all Gurjjar-dominated villages on Saturday.

Sources said that Bainsla was in two minds about taking the chopper because the Gurjjars gathered at Peeplikheda did not want him to leave. “The crowd there is not even in his control now. He has been asking them to maintain peace but nobody is listening to him. He has created a monster whom he himself now fears,” said a Gurjjar leader.

The agitators have few hopes of the state Government agreeing to their demands. “People here believe that if Bainsla goes to Jaipur, the Government might compel him to amend the demands. Hence they want Raje to come down, so that they have an edge,” said Jalramsingh Gurjjar at Peeplikheda.

Traffic on most highways except NH 11 has resumed while rail services are chugging back to normal. At Manpur near Peeplikheda, a showroom of motorbikes was set on fire. It is believed that it was owned by a Meena.