Murdered Ex-MLA Jayanti Bhanushali's family seek security

Fearing threat to their lives, the family of murdered former MLA Jayanti Bhanushali on Saturday approached Ahmedabad Police Commissioner and Railway SP office and sought security.

The family was given a police cover as a precautionary measure, police said. Their lives could be at risk after Bhanushali was murdered, said an official.

The investigating officer (IO) in the case also confirmed that no threat calls or messages were sent to the family members.

At around 3 pm on Saturday, Bhanushali's nephew Sunil Bhanushali along with two others reached the Railway SP office in Ranip.

They met Gautam Parmar, DIG Railway, and Bhavana Patel, SP of Railway, during which an application pleading police security for the family in Naroda and Kutch was sought.

The meeting went on for almost an hour, following which the family left the place. After receiving an order of the Ahmedabad police commissioner, Naroda police deployed security outside the former MLA's house.

After Jayanti Bhanushali was brutally murdered onboard a train on January 7, the family slipped into the fear that the assailants could also attack them.

Bhanushali's nephew Sunil, on January 8, lodged a complaint with Gandhidham police to report the murder. He alleged that Bhanushali was murdered due to political rivalry and the former MLA and BJP leader Chhabil Patel, his son Siddharth Patel, Jayant Thakkar, Umesh Parmar, Manisha Goswami, and one Surjit Bhai had conspired to kill his uncle.

The SIT team have begun an investigation about the accused. However, only Jayant Thakkar's statement has been taken, while their rest are still absconding and search for them is on.