Surat: After the murder of a 25-year-old youth in the Navagam-Dindoli area on Monday, the relatives of the deceased rushed to the Navagam bridge on Tuesday afternoon, demanding public punishment for the accused murderers. This led to a 3-kilometre-long traffic jam, and the police had to resort to a mild lathi charge to clear the crowd.

The victim, 25-year-old Vishal alias Atul Vinod Soni, a resident of Ganapatidham Society, was attacked near Gyan Bharti School on Monday afternoon by five assailants, including a minor, who fatally stabbed Vishal due to a previous altercation involving his minor nephew in the street.

On Tuesday, the relatives of the deceased gathered on the Dindoli bridge and demanded that the killers be brought there, paraded for punishment, and hanged in public. However, the police explained that this demand was unreasonable. Despite their efforts to disperse the crowd, they refused to leave the bridge, causing long queues of vehicles to form up to 3 kilometres from the bridge. Eventually, the police resorted to a mild lathi charge as the mob began pelting stones at them. Fortunately, no injuries were reported among the police, although the mob damaged the windows of two rickshaws. Dindoli police, along with senior police officials, managed to bring the situation under control within half an hour. Security was heightened on the bridge during the deceased’s final journey, and nearby shops closed due to fear of damage.

Dindoli police have arrested Mukesh Bharwad, Anand Ramashankar Yadhar, Abhishek alias Kaliya Akhilesh Yadav, and a 16-year-old minor in connection with the murder. Mukesh’s brother, Gopal Bharwad, is currently on the run. Mukesh, a habitual criminal, has been previously involved in crimes such as mobile snatching and assault. Similarly, Vishal, the victim, had also been involved in prior criminal activities. He worked as a thread cutter and had been married for a year and a half, leaving behind a 10-month-old child. DeshGujarat