Mevani detained during protest against activist's murder

Gandhinagar, March 23 Gujarat's Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani on Tuesday was detained while protesting against the alleged inaction by the administration for not arresting a police Sub Inspector P.R. Solanki in the Dalit RTI activist murder case in Ghogha.

Mevani, the lone Independent legislator from Vadgam constituency, and around 20 others were detained from the MLA quarters in Gandhinagar on Tuesday, before they could reach the Secretariat.

Mevani had announced earlier that he would be demonstrating against the state inaction regarding the Dalit RTI activist Amrabhai Boricha, who was hacked to death inside his house on March 3, despite having police protection, on Tuesday at the Secretariat entrance.

A group of people, mostly consisting of the upper caste Kshatriya community according to the deceased's family, beat Boricha to death with pipes and swords.

Around 25 others, protesting near one of the gates of the Gujarat state Secretariat were also detained.

Mevani had also raised the issue of Sub Inspector P.R. Solanki's arrest last Friday in the ongoing budget session of the Gujarat state assembly.

He pointed fingers at the Minister of Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja and later to the Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, questioning whether they had any relationship with Solanki as he was not arrested, and had displayed a placard expressing the same in the house.

Angered by this, the speaker of the house Rajendra Trivedi, had suspended Mevani for the day.

According to sources, Boricha family is the lone Dalit family in Sanodar village, which is primarily dominated by the Kshatriya community.

( With inputs from IANS )