SDBA team visits Limbayat

SURAT, Sept 29: Members of the Surat District Bar Association SDBA, who are striking work since Tuesday as a mark of protest against po...

SURAT, Sept 29: Members of the Surat District Bar Association SDBA, who are striking work since Tuesday as a mark of protest against police action in Limbayat last Friday, carried out a fact-finding mission in the area today. Lawyers met affected families in the Limbayat area as well as patients at the New Civil Hospital who suffered bullet injuries to gather first-hand information of the episode.

Interestingly, the fact-finding team observed that all the seven persons were killed at different spots, that they were fired upon when the mob had already begun to disperse, and that the police version of the entire episode seemed far from the truth. It also observed that most people injured by bullets were not part of the procession, but mere onlookers.

A release issued in the evening said that the advocates found out that no political party leader, social organisation or sants8217; from the Hindu community had gone to the spot, although five days have gone by since the killings. 8220;The SDBA is the first organisation to have visited the affected persons,8221; SDBA president Ajay Desai claimed.

Providing details of the visit, the release said that as soon as they reached the area, a number of locals, along with their leaders, gathered around them and recounted Friday8217;s incidents. They also showed them the exact spots where the seven people died, the distance between them and the police who fired, and other details.

8220;All the seven bodies were lying in different lanes of Sanjaynagar slum and away from each other, pointing to the fact that the police fired simultaneously, not at one point but from different places,8221; Desai said.

8220;The SDBA is also convinced that the police version of the episode is cooked up,8221; said Desai, adding, 8220;We do not see why the police surrounded and fired on the mob that had already begun to disperse.8221;

Later, the group of advocates, which included Desai, Vice-President Vipul Choksi, and 16 other advocates, met patients at the New Civil Hospital. 8220;We found that most of those injured by police bullets were not part of the two mandals but onlookers. This proves that the firing was unprovoked,8221; Desai added.