Ahmedabad bandh call over Dalit death

 Almost 24 hours since he was declared dead, Dalit activist Bhanuprasad Vankar's body continues to remain at the Gandhinagar Civil Hospital, as Vankar's family has refused to take possession until their five demands are met by the state.

Meanwhile, even as the government attempted to appease the situation, Dalit leaders Jignesh Mevani and Hardik Patel continued to camp at the spot with the kin, calling for an Ahmedabad bandh and blockade of the SG Highway on Sunday if their demands were not met. "The government is not willing to give anything to us in writing. Oral promises are not reliable," he said.

"We have learned this from the Thangadh incident," said Mevani.

Earlier in the day, the additional chief secretary of social justice and empowerment department Kamal Dayani met with Vankar's family members and Mevani that was followed by a high-level meeting between deputy CM Nitin Patel, chief secretary JN Singh, and minister of state for home Pradipsinh Jadeja wherein they agreed to most of the demands. However, the stalemate continues over agreement to put it down in writing.

"This was an unfortunate incident. We will ensure that land records show the names of the two families very soon as this is a special case," said deputy CM Patel.