Amreli Bandh call by Gujarat Congress fails to evoke response

Amreli: The Congress party had called for a bandh in Amreli this morning, demanding justice for Payal Goti, a Patidar woman and one of the accused in the Amreli forged letter case. However, the bandh call did not receive significant response from the public, as most traders kept their businesses open as usual.

The Congress party had launched the Nari Asmita Andolan, which entered its third day today. The bandh, scheduled from 10 AM to 12 PM, failed to garner much support. On the other hand, former Congress MLA and party leader Paresh Dhanani, along with over 30 party workers, concluded their hunger strike at Rajkamal Chowk in the city around 10:30 AM today after 48 hours.

The case centers on a letter that emerged in December, accusing BJP MLA Kaushik Vekariya, also the BJP deputy whip in the state legislature, of corruption. The letter, which gained widespread attention on social media, was reportedly written on the letterhead of Taluka Panchayat Chairman Kishore Kanpariya. The police filed an FIR, claiming that Kanpariya’s signature on the letter was forged.

On December 28, the police arrested Manish Vaghasia, a youth leader from Taluka BJP in Amreli; Ashok Mangroliya, the sarpanch of Jashwantgarh village; and their associates Jitu Khatra and Payal Goti, a computer operator. Following their remand, the police staged a reconstruction of the crime on December 29, taking the four accused through the areas where the letter was allegedly forged.

This action sparked controversy, as the Patidar community and the Congress party argued that the Patidar girl, who worked as a computer operator earning Rs. 8,000, had typed the letter on her employer’s orders. The Congress party contended that the girl was unjustly targeted and has been calling for accountability for the police officers who paraded an unmarried young woman.

However, Sanjay Kharat, the superintendent of police in Amreli, had explained that the presence of the accused was essential for the crime reconstruction process. “During the investigation, it was found that the accused had been in contact with each other and had deleted WhatsApp messages, which resulted in the destruction of evidence. To recover this evidence, it was necessary to bring the accused to the crime scene. The law was followed properly throughout this case,” Kharat stated. DeshGujarat