DHAKA: Three people were killed in widespread violence in Gujarat on Wednesday as tension mounted in the state, even as Hardik Patel vowed to intensify the agitation for OBC quota for Patel community.

Apprehending more trouble, curfew was clamped in parts of Ahmedabad and other major cities across the state during the day.

Apart from Ahmedabad, curfew had been clamped in Surat, Mehsana, Rajkot, Jamnagnar and Patan cities.

‘Police have recovered bodies of three persons, who were suspected to have been killed in violence spread across the city,’ police spokesman N D Trivedi said, reports Hindustan Times.

According to a senior police official, two persons died in police firing in Vastral area, while body of a man was found in Ghatlodia in the city.

‘Girish Patel (47) and his son Siddharth Patel (20) were killed in police firing late last night,’ he said.

‘The incident took place when a mob tried to snatch the weapons of police. These two had tried to snatch a rifle of a policeman and during the scuffle it went off causing the casualties,’ he claimed.

In Ghatlodia, police recovered the body of a man who died due to severe head injury. The deceased is believed to have been beaten up in the clash last night, police said.

Earlier in the day, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for calm in as fresh violence rocked parts of the state forcing the Centre to rush additional paramilitary forces as the agitation triggered overnight arson in key cities.
 
In a brief televised appeal, a solemn-looking Modi appealed for peace in his home state and said violence does not benefit anybody.
 
‘We can reach a solution through negotiations,’ Modi said in Gujarati in his first reaction to the agitation which turned violent after the leader of the community Hardik Patel was briefly detained by police on Tuesday.

Modi’s appeal came a day after chief minister Anandiben Patel’s similar call for peace failed to stop violence from spreading.

BDST: 1733 HRS, AUG 26, 2015
RR