No hate crime in Surat, man from Bihar died in accident: Police

Two days after a 32-year-old man from Bihar was found dead by the roadside in Surat, Gujarat, the police on Sunday refuted rumours of a hate crime saying the man died in an accident.

Incidents of attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants were reported in some districts of Gujarat earlier this month after the rape of a 14-month-old girl in Sabarkantha district and arrest of a worker from Bihar for the crime.

Surat is believed to have the highest number of migrant workers among all cities in Gujarat.

However, Surat police commissioner Satish Sharma Sunday said the evidence shoed that the deceased, Amarjit Singh, died after his motorcycle hit a tree.

After Singh's body was found in Khatodara area Friday night, it was suspected that someone might have attacked and murdered him.

"Evidence gathered so far shows it was a case of accident. Preliminary forensic examination shows it was a motorcycle accident. The motorcycle hit a tree. Statements of the people who took him to hospital also corroborated it," the commissioner said.

As to the missing mobile phone of the deceased, Sharma said somebody might have stolen it after the accident.

"We have not reached any final conclusion and are investigating the case from all angles," he said.

He also said that while a news portal in Bihar claimed that it was a murder and stated that Singh was 15 years old, it did not seek Surat police's version.

The deceased was 32 years old, Sharma said.

"Not a single incident of Gujaratis attacking non-Gujaratis have taken place in Surat," he said, adding that the three recent cases, where complainants were non-Gujaratis, were routine crimes and twenty people were arrested.

The victims in these cases continue to live in the same locality as before, which shows these were not hate crimes, the police commissioner said.

Singh's family had claimed that he was murdered. His brother Rakesh Singh had said that Amarjit received a call around 10 pm Friday after which he left house to meet someone.