Now, Patidar custodial death takes casteist hue

PALANPUR: The custodial death of 29-year-old Patidar man Ketan Patel is taking a casteist turn now.
The Brahmabhatt Yuva Navnirmal Sena (BYNS), an outfit of Barot community, has lodged a strong protest over the arrest of Bharat Brahmabhatt, the shopkeeper and his son Jignesh, on the charges of murder. On Thursday, BYNS members submitted a memorandum to assistant collector Ramesh Merja demanding that the father-son duo’s name be removed from the FIR and they be released immediately.
The Mehsana police had lodged an FIR after Ketan’s father Mahendra Patel gave a complaint specifically naming the two along with head constable Chirag Parmar. The three were arrested on Monday.
Visnu Barot, convener of BYNS, told TOI, “Brahmabhatt and his son have been arrested under the influence of a dominant community. This will lead to caste conflicts.”
The outfit also threatened the ruling BJP of dire consequences in the assembly elections slated later this year.
“Elderly man Barot had lodged a complaint of theft of Rs 9,500 from his paan shop against Ketan. How can he be booked for murder without any inquiry?” the memorandum stated.
The FIR states that Brahmabhatt and his son Jignesh thrashed Ketan before handing him over to the police.
Meanwhile, the district administration has beefed up security at the Mehsana Civil Hospital. No one, except the family members of Ketan are allowed to enter without a valid entry pass.
Suresh Patel, north Gujarat convener of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), said that large number of people have assembled in the ground outside the hospital to protest the ban on entry. “We are not going to take the body unless the demand for CBI inquiry is met,” he said.