VHP observes ‘bandh’ in Gujarat town over murder of Hindu man; heavy police force deployed

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) is observing a ‘bandh’ (total shutdown) in Dhandhuka town of Gujarat’s Ahmedabad district on Thursday to protest the murder of a 27-year-old Hindu man allegedly by members of another religion two days back over his social media post, its office-bearer said.

Police personnel have been deployed in the town and surrounding areas to prevent any untoward incident, and most parts of Dhandhuka town remained completely shut since Thursday morning due to the bandh call, an official of police’s Ahmedabad rural control said. While the police did not reveal the exact reason behind the murder of Kishan Boliya, the VHP claims that the man was killed by people from another religion as they were angry with him for sharing a controversial message on social media recently.

”According to the first information report (FIR) filed at Dhandhuka police station, Boliya was shot dead on January 25 by two bike-borne assailants in a residential area of the town. The two unidentified assailants drove off after firing two bullets at Boliya, who died on the spot,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police, Reena Rathva.

”We have formed seven teams to nab the culprits. We are exploring all possible angles. Local crime branch along with Special Operations Group of the Ahmedabad police has also joined in. Adequate number of police personnel have been deployed in the town to maintain law and order,” Rathva told reporters. Meanwhile, several leaders of the Gujarat VHP have reached Dhandhuka to press for the immediate arrest of the culprits, claiming that Boliya was targeted for sharing the social media post.

”We know that some persons from another faith were angry at Boliya and had even threatened him recently over that social media post. We want the police to catch all the culprits who are behind the murder of the Hindu youth. They must be tried in the fast track court. Today’s bandh was successful,” Gujarat VHP spokesperson Hitendrasinh Rajput said.

Meanwhile, Ahmedabad Superintendent of Police, Virendrasinh Yadav, said that two suspects have been detained for questioning in connection with the murder case.