Gandhinagar

Convener of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), reportedly escaped the police net and went into hiding after addressing a 2,000-strong Patidar meeting in public near Tainpur village in Bayad belt of Aravalli district without proper official permission. Some people in this meeting were seen holding sticks.

The close aide of the PAAS leader Ketan Patel claimed that Hardik was caught by the police soon after leaving the meeting place and was taken to some unknown place with his vehicle.

However Aravalli SP Mayur Chavda refuted it.

‘Hardik has not been arrested and we have not even conducted any crackdown against him that is all I can say right now,’ he said.

Ketan on the other hand claimed that Hardik along with his vehicle and another vehicle was nabbed by police at a distance of around 10 to 12 kms from the meeting spot while they were returning. He himself somehow managed to escape.

Chirag Patel, another aide of Hardik, claimed that the police was there to nab the PAAS convener but had to back out without arresting Hardik owing to the large presence of youths from his community there.

Earlier Mr Hansmukh Patel, the Gandhinagar Range Inspector General of Police, had claimed that a manhunt was on to nab Hardik who had hoodwinked the police after the meeting.

The IG said that Hardik had convened a protest meeting without obtaining the necessary permission from the administration. “Since there was a crowd of over 2,000 people in the meeting, we allowed him to continue with his speech and waited for him to finish his address, after which we planned to arrest him,” the police officer said.

Despite the presence of a large number of policemen, Hardik and other leaders of PAAS managed to escape in a cavalcade of waiting vehicles. The police had set up roadblocks but seeing the roadblocks, Hardik’s car ran towards the adjoining field.

On seeing Hardik and his fellow agitators taking to heels, the policemen too started a chase.

“He ran like an ordinary thief. We are making all efforts to nab him. He will be arrested for defying prohibitory orders and having held a meeting without taking prior permission,” the IGP said.

“We have cordoned off all the roads out of the Arvali district,” he said.

Meanwhile video footage showing dozens of people running through cropped fields towards police vehicles.

Hardik was arrested on September 19 in Surat while he was trying to take out Ekta Yatra without permission He was kept in custody till late in the night and was released on bail.

Ten people were killed and over two hundred vehicle torched during the violence that erupted after his earlier arrest here in the evening of August 25 following a rally in the city.

The spokesperson of PAAS Kartik Patel on the other hand said that he was not aware of Hardik’s arrest. He accepted that the meeting was held without permission.

Meanwhile police has been put on alert in Ahmedabad and Surat cities in the wake of the incident.

In another incident, Surat city convener of PASS Alpesh Kathiria was rounded up by Surat police when he was on way to submit a memorandum before the police commissioner. Security was escalated at police commissioner building, and even media persons were allowed to step in.

Hasmukh Patel: We didn’t detain Hardik and others when they were on stage, because it could invite a situation of confrontation between those attending the gathering and police force. Police had setup naka-bandi at few distance After the meeting was over, five cars came to the place where police had set up naka-bandi. Police could detain 12 persons from first three cars, but Hardik and others were in one of last two cars. Those two cars took U-turn and escaped the place. Police is in procedure to book Hardik and his aides under IPC 188. Police will also go through the content of speeches delivered during the assembly. If provocative content is found in some speech, actions will be taken for that offense too.

PTI report
Quota row: Hardik holds meeting, evades detention by police

Ahmedabad

Hardik Patel, spearheadingthe Patel reservation movement in Gujarat, gave police a slip today who tried to detain him for organising a public meeting without prior permission at a village in Aravalli district.

After Hardik addressed the meeting at Tenpur village, the police tried to detain him but he fled in a vehicle, a senior police officer said.

“Hardik today held a public meeting in Tenpur village in Bayad taluka without taking prior permission. As we came to know about it, our police team went there to detain him but he ran away from there to evade detention,” Inspector General of Police Hasmmukh Patel told PTI.

After the incident, police have put up barricades on roads in Gandhiangar, Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts and intensified combing operation in the region to detain him, the IG said, adding that Hardik may be detained tonight.

“We did not arrest him during the meeting because we did not wish to create a friction with local people present there,” the officer said.

Elaborating on the incident, the IG said that “after the meeting, we intercepted their (Hardik’s supporters) four vehicles outside the village, but two of the vehicles took a U-turn and managed to flee. Hardik was in one of them.”

The officer said the police have cordoned off the areas surrounding the place to detain the Patel leader. “He (Hardik) is running here and there,” he added.

“We have the information that he is trying to run here and there from villages in Aravalli or neighbouring Sabarkantha district. He has been running here and there to evade his arrest,” the officer said.

He said Hardik will be booked for illegally holding the meeting.

“He (Hardik) will be detained for holding the public gathering illegally without taking prior permission,” the IG said.

Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) member Ketan Patel said he was not aware about Hardik’s whereabouts.

“The police first chased us from public meeting and after some distance a police vehicle intercepted one of our vehicles. But we some how ran away..I don’t know the status of Hardik and others as to where they are right now,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hardik’s close aide Chirag Patel said PAAS had applied for permission for the gathering but it was denied by the police.

“This is murder of democracy as we are not allowed to hold a peaceful public meeting for those who have died in recent violence,” Chirag added.

Hardik was arrested on September 19 in Surat city when he tried to take out ‘Ekta Yatra’ without obtaining permission.

He was later released on bail by a court.