Gujarat man killed over Facebook post, unrest in state as case bears linkages to Pakistan

Hindu outfits including the Vishva Hindu Parishad, Hindu Jagran Manch, and Bajrang Dal held protests across Gujarat on Monday against the killing of a youth in Dhandhuka town here on January 25 over a social media post. The crowd was heard chanting anti-Muslim slogans, while they also attempted to damage police property.

Rajkot:Hindu outfits including the Vishva Hindu Parishad, Hindu Jagran Manch, and Bajrang Dal held protests across Gujarat on Monday against the killing of a youth in Dhandhuka town here on January 25 over a social media post. The crowd was heard chanting anti-Muslim slogans, while they also attempted to damage police property.

The murder victim Kishan Bharwad was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne men over a Facebook post he had shared on January 6, which allegedly hurt the Muslim sentiments. The case was taken over from the local police by the Gujarat Anti Terrorism Squad on Saturday. So far, the ATS has named eight people and arrested six of them in this case, while 40 ATS squads have been deployed in several cities including Mumbai and Delhi to hunt the remaining two accused.

The case has taken an unexpected turn since its linkage with Pakistan has come forward. Two of the accused named Shabbir and Imtiaz were arrested on Wednesday, while the main accused Maulvi Ayub, another accused who sent arms to the Maulvi, Azim Samana and Maulana Kamargani Usmani have been arrested recently. Among these, Usmani already has linkages with the recent Tripura violence and has confessed to having affiliated with the Pakistani organization Dawat-e-Islami, as informed by the ATS officials.

Dawat-e-Islami is based in Karachi, Pakistan and operates across India, including Ahmedabad. The institute is the Islamic Education Institute, which influences the youth to partake in fanatical and violent terrorist activities. As the probe on the case continues, both Maulana Kamargani Usmani and Azim Samana of Delhi have been remanded till February 7.

Meanwhile, during the day, the Hindu functionaries across Gujarat organised vehicle rallies and foot marches in several cities, followed by a forceful bandh in the area. Sensing the situation getting serious, the local police resorted to lathi-charge, during which some of the protesters were allegedly injured. Apart from Rajkot, people from the Maldhari community in several other cities of Gujarat including Ahmedabad, Surat and Karjan had participated in this rally to the collector's office, demanding justice for Kishan.

"The march was supposed to culminate at the Collector's office, but on the way, some protesters threw stones and damaged a police PCR van. A mild lathi charge was ordered to bring the situation under control. One person claimed he was injured in the lathi charge but we do not buy his claim as the force used was minimal," the DCP Manoharsinh Jadeja said. Protest programmes, including marches, shutdowns, and prayer meets, were held by the outfits in several cities across the state.

People demanded capital punishment for the accused, while a bandh was also observed in Visavadar, Mahuva, Palitana and Thangarh cities."Common Hindu citizens organized rallies across the state today demanding justice for Boliya. People want the police to go deeper into this entire conspiracy that led to the murder of Boliya. We have learned that one more person was on their target, and there is a need to probe the ideology that is responsible for such crimes," Gujarat VHP spokesperson Hitendrasinh Rajput said.