Independent MLA from Vadgam Assembly Constituency Jignesh Mevani, was detained by Gujarat Police, on Tuesday, 23 March, for protesting alleged inaction against police sub-inspector PR Solanki in connection with the lynching of Amrabhai Boricha, a 50-year-old Dalit resident of Ghogha, Gujarat.
As per Jignesh Mevani’s social media team, more than a thousand Dalit activists were also detained from across Gujarat.
WHAT DID JIGNESH MEVANI’S TEAM SAY?
Tweeting the news of Mevani’s arrest, his social media team had earlier on Tuesday said:
“Gujarat govt has detained Jignesh Mevani and hundreds of Dalits for seeking justice for Amrabhai Boricha’s lynching! Their casteist face is out in the open!”
Later in the day, they added another tweet to it saying:
“1000+ Dalit activists have been detained across Gujarat! Welcome to the illusion called Vibrant Gujarat!”
THE ALLEGED LYNCHING
On 2 March, Amrabhai Boricha, a 50-year-old Dalit resident of Sanodar in Ghogha taluka of Bhavnagar, Gujarat, was allegedly killed by a mob, in the presence of policemen, and despite the fact that Boricha had, prior to the fatal attack, complained to the police sub-inspector about threat to his life.
In 2013, Boricha had filed a complaint under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against three of ten people named as accused in a brawl that took place after some of the ‘upper caste’ men from the village had abused him. Since then, the men had been out on bail, but the pressure and harassment had increased for Amrabhai, his daughter informed. She said that the accused men were constantly pressuring Amrabhai to withdraw the 2013 case.
BACKGROUND
On Friday, 19 March, Mevani was also suspended from the state’s Assembly for a day, after he made repeated demands for the arrest of the police sub-inspector.
After the Question Hour came to an end, Mevani raised a poster that displayed the picture of a Dalit man who was allegedly killed by a mob in the presence of a policeman.
The poster read: ‘Why are you not arresting the culprits?’. Following this, he was asked to leave the House by Speaker Rajendra Trivedi.
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