Cong holds state-wide protests over Mehsana death, loan waiver

Gujarat Congress today held state-wide protest rallies over several issues, including the custodial death of a Patidar man in Mehsana and demand for farm loan waiver.
In a memorandum submitted to the collectors across the state, party members also sought apology from BJP chief Amit Shah for his recent remark on Mahatma Gandhi in which he said described as "bahut chatur baniya", and submitted a memorandum to the collectors across the state.
They also threatened to organise a state-wide rasta roko (road blockade) protests on June 16, if demands of farmers were not fulfilled by the government.
Senior party leaders, including Gujarat in-charge Ashok Gehlot, state president Bharatsinh Solanki, former president Siddharth Patel among others participated in a protest rally in Nadiad, the district headquarters of Kheda.

In their memorandum, the opposition party demanded action against persons responsible for the custodial death of Ketal Patel in Mehsana and also sought the report of the fresh post-mortem conducted on his body in Mehsana civil hospital.
It also demanded total loan waiver for farmers in the state and right price for their produce along with free electricity and irrigation water.

A Congress delegation had yesterday met Gujarat Governor O P Kohli and submitted a memorandum demanding a CBI inquiry into Ketan's death.
Senior party members had also gone to meet the kin of deceased in Mehsana.
Ketan, a resident of Balol village near Mehsana, was in judicial custody at Mehsana Sub-Jail since June 4 in a theft case. He died at the Mehsana civil hospital on the night of June 5 within hours of admission.

Though police denied it was a case of custodial death, local Patel leaders and Ketan's family members alleged that he died due to police torture when he was in their custody before being sent to jail by the court on June 4.