Gandhinagar/Mahesana: Alleging that opposition Congress was playing ‘dirty politics’ in the incident of ‘unfortunate’ death of a man in judicial custody (jail) in Mahesana, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel today said that the state government has instructed Mahesana police to lodge an FIR in the matter and also the District Judge there had ordered a judicial probe in this matter.

Mahesana Bandh was observed today to protest the death while a North Gujarat Bandh on the issue has also been reportedly called for tomorrow.

Many Congress leaders including former president Siddharth Patel and Babu Mangukiya remained present in Mahesana today.

Addressing a press conference in capital Gandhinagar this evening the Dy CM said that a high level meeting between Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, him, minister of state for home Pradipsinh Jadeja and DGP Geetha Johri was held in which the matter was discussed in detail.

‘The incident of death of Ketan Patel, resident of Balol, who was caught for the alleged theft of a meager amount of Rs 500 few days ago, was unfortunate and the government wants justice for his family members but doing politics for political gains over this tragic death was condemnable and inhumane. Leaders of Congress and other such elements who had been doing such politics on any tragic incident in the state in last few months, who had nothing to do with Mahesana had again reached there with similar motives. They even instigated the family members of the deceased and his relatives to not to do the last rites. Minister Jadeja and me talked several times with the family members and tried to pacify him. Soon after the postmortem today, the home minister instructed Mahesana Dy SP to lodge FIR in this regard. Meanwhile, the district judge of Mahesana had also ordered the CJM to probe the matter,’ the Dy CM said.

He said that such incidents should not be made a matter of politics. But Congress which had also tried to do so in tragic incidents including Mandavi incident was trying all out to take political mileage for votes out of it.

He said that the PM report showed injury on the body but whether there were internal injuries or not would be clear only after the FSL report in this regard.

Patel said that no untoward incident took place during Mahesana Bandh today.

Earlier SP Mahesana Chaitanya Mandlik had said that as the death of Ketan Patel, who was lodged in Mahesana Sub jail and died in hospital after complaint of fever, had taken place in judicial custody and as per law a judicial probe has been ordered in it.,the FIR would be lodged only after the probe.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Siddharth Patel said that there were 39 injury marks on the body of the deceased but it has not been attributed as the reason behind the death. He said that a north Gujarat bandh has been called for tomorrow.

Ketan was caught by police for alleged theft of Rs 500 from a shop.

DeshGujarat