The crowd gathered at the SP office created a ruckus and shouted slogans against the police and the state government.
Following a complaint against Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mevani and Alpesh Thakor on Saturday, the trio reached the District Superintendent of Police (SP) office in Sector 27 of Gandhinagar city. Hundreds of supporters, including several Congress MLAs, accompanied the three youth leaders. The crowd gathered at the SP office created a ruckus and shouted slogans against the police and the state government.
The Patidar quota agitation leader, Hardik, and Gujarat MLAs Thakor and Mevani were booked by police on trespass and other charges after allegedly leading a "raid" at a house where they claimed that liquor was illegally stored on Friday.
Reportedly, the three tried to enter the SP office but the doors were locked from inside, after which they decided to sit on a dharna in SP office's compound. They demanded that the police give a statement that the complainant and her family had a criminal background. they also claimed that the family had been involved in the liquor trade for many years and many complaints had been registered against them in the past.
The police, however, have not served any notice to any of the three leaders after the complaint was filed against them. The police will first collect all evidence against the accused leaders and only then will take any action, police sources said.
Virendra Singh Yadav, SP, told reporters, "The investigation has been handed over to the crime branch of Gandhinagar. No arrest has been made on the basis of the complaint of the woman. In fact, the police will carry out an investigation on the basis of the claims of these leaders as well. The probe will be a neutral one and the police will probe all claims before taking any action. However, the three accused should have taken along a police raid party instead of conduction a raid on their own, which is an offence."
Hardik Patel said, "The police has been directly maligning our image because we raided the house of a bootlegger who runs her business right in front of the SP office. They did this to save their own skin."
Jignesh Mevani also opposed police registering a case against him, Hardik and Thakor. He said that the police have pointed a finger at their integrity and honesty. Alpesh Thakor said, "We demand that SP make a statement about the criminal records of the woman within two hours, or else I will call all volunteers of my Thakor Sena and ask them to reach the SP office for a protest programme."
At the time of going to print, the trio was at the SP office staging a dharna along with their supporters.
THE CASE
Thakor along with Mevani and Hardik, on Thursday “raided” the house of a woman with over a dozen supporters claiming they wanted to expose the alleged “liquor den” operating there
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