By Zeeshan Ahmed, IndiaTomorrow.net,
Ahmedabad, 21 Jan 2015: An official statement released by the state unit of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) stating that two of its active members were killed in the Hansot riots in Bharuch district on January 14-15, has vindicated the Congress allegations about Sangh Parivar’s involvement in the latest bout of communal violence in the state.
The statement released in Gujarati language by the state RSS chief Jayantibhai Bhadesia yesterday claims that two of its “active and dynamic workers have been killed in the Hansot riots.”
The two youths, who died, were identified as Pratik Patel and Sandip Patel. Another person who was killed in the riot was Rafiq Sheikh.
Bhadesia also expressed serious concern over the death of “the two Hindu youths” and demanded an in-depth investigation in the killing of the two.
On the other hand, accusing the Sangh Parivar for its “direct as well as indirect involvement” in the riots, senior Congress leader Shankarsinh Vaghela told mediapersons that communal riots in the state had begun to visit again after BJP took over the political power at the Centre in May this year.
He referred to a number of communal clashes that took place in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Dabhel in the last six months and the latest at Hansot village in Bharuch.
The Congress leader also accused the “police of being biased against a particular community” and said that this encouraged the miscreants to attack Muslims and their properties.
Stating that there was also economic angle to the riots, he said the basic intention behind engineering the riots was that a group of BJP leaders wanted a share in the ongoing illegitimate mining and shrimp farming activities in Aliabet island and other areas in Hansot taluka. He said that BJP leaders wanted to capture a part of these businesses by uprooting some of the owners by causing the riots. The shrimp farming and mining activities are all in the control of the Muslims in this area.
Making strong allegation that police was “biased during the riots”’, he said: “It is my allegation that police has become partial and that is why the shops and houses were attacked in their presence. Police is harassing the members of a particular community under pressure from BJP leaders.”
“I can’t understand why someone should burn the standing crops. Are the agricultural crops also identified as Hindu and Muslim crops? I am unable to understand the logic behind burning the crops and causing economic losses to the minority community”, Vaghela, who visited the riot-hit area a day ago, said. Sugarcane crops standing in over 200 acres of land belonging to Muslims were burnt down by miscreants during the riots. This is also the first time when standing crops were destroyed during a communal riot in Gujarat.
