Large-scale riots had erupted in Gujarat following the rape of a 14-month-old girl in the state. Following the incident, a mob of 200 people allegedly from the Thakor Sena, which is headed by Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor, thrashed two employees at a factory. Soon, widespread violence against non-Gujaratis was reported in the state. Following the violence, Gujarat police have arrested more than 350 people, most of them Sena members.
Now, Congress MLA and Sena leader Alpesh Thakor has announced that he will sit on an indefinite ‘sadbhavna fast’ from the 11th of October demanding the withdrawal of ‘false cases’ against the members of Gujarat Kshatriya Thakor Sena (GKTS) following the instances of violence in the state.
Thakor asserted that the GKTS had no hand in the attacks against non-Gujaratis. He said, “In Gujarat, our 14-month-old girl was raped…we believe that in such incidents only an individual was involved and not an entire community… some untoward incident happened on the basis of which we (youths of GKTS) are being portrayed as thieves and goons. I think this is an injustice to us. It is very unfortunate that people doing honest work are being harassed and framed in cases.”
According to Thakor, more than 25 FIRs have been registered in five districts in which more than 400 GKTS youths have been named or arrested. “Conspiracy is on to finish off Alpesh Thakor and GKTS,” Thakor told media.
Evidence has emerged, however, which appear to confirm the role of the Thakor Sena in the said attacks. We have reported earlier that the Police had confirmed the involvement of a Congress leader in the attack and three people have been arrested in connection with the same.