This Article is From Aug 31, 2015

How Did Shwetang Patel Die After Gujarat Violence, Court To Hear Today

How Did Shwetang Patel Die After Gujarat Violence, Court To Hear Today

According to his family, Shwetang was not an activist or protester and he had not taken part in the protest led by Hardik Patel.

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat CID is expected to submit a progress report to the High Court today on the death of 32-year-old Shwetang Patel, whose family alleges he died in police custody last Tuesday in Ahmedabad, as violence gripped the city after the brief detention of politician Hardik Patel.

On Friday the High Court had ordered a probe into the death of the Shwetang after a second post-mortem report had stated that he had died due to severe head injuries. His family alleges that he was beaten in police custody and died of injuries.

The court noted that the death "looked homicidal".

According to his family, Shwetang was not an activist or protester and he had not taken part in the protest led by Hardik Patel. The police however alleged that the young man was part of a mob involved in arson in the Bapunagar area.

Violence had erupted in Ahemdabad on Tuesday as news spread that 22-year-old Hardik Patel had been detained. Enraged supporters clashed with the police and allegedly ransacked and set fire to public property in Ahmedabad and other parts of Gujarat. Eight people, including a policeman, were killed, four of them allegedly in police firing.

Hardik Patel, the face of a massive agitation for reservation in government jobs and colleges for the Patel community in Gujarat, has demanded that the family of each person killed be given 30 lakh in compensation and that murder cases be registered against policeman.

The Gujarat High Court summoned the state's Home Secretary on a petition that alleges the police used excessive force on protestors.

In CCTV footage, police officers are seen vandalising vehicles parked in residential areas.

More than a thousand people took part in the funeral procession of Shwetang yesterday that started from his house in Matrushakti Society of Bapunagar area in the morning with more than 600 policemen were stationed along the 1 km long route.
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