Gujarat: Violence in Rajkot over murder of Hindu youth

News Desk: Violence erupted in Rajkot over the murder of a 27 year old Hindu man from Dhandhuka, named Kishan Bharwad, for a controversial social media post on Prophet Muhammad.

An unruly mob of around 3,000 resorted to violence and vandalized a police control room (PCR) van following which cops resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd.

The mob in Rajkot blocked traffic on Kasturba Marg near Dharam Cinema while many of them forced shops near Racecourse Road to shut down. Another group then reached Sadar Bazar in an old city area of Rajkot, damaged a PCR van and vandalized three shops. They targeted carts selling eggs and other non-veg food items. Cops lodged an offence of rioting and interrupting police officers in discharging duty against a mob of 100 to 15.

Senior police officers present on the spot ordered lathicharge to disperse the mob in which one person was injured. According to sources, some from the mob also pelted stones at the police.

Crime branch inspector V K Gadhvi was forced to fire in the air to disperse the mob on Race Course Road. Police officials said that offences will be registered against the perpetrators of the violence after reviewing CCTV footage.

Addressing reporters, deputy commissioner of police, Manorsinh Jadeja asked people to resist posting provocative comments on social media. Meanwhile, police in all the districts of Saurashtra and Kutch have been put on alert following social media posts which are being monitored by a special team.