Gujarat police booked 29 persons for rioting, loot and for attacking on duty officer on Thursday late night at Chharanagar area of Ahmedabad.
Interestingly all the accused are belonging to Chhara community which is a notified tribe. The police had received tip off that some people were involved in ferrying alcohol illegally via small vehicles in Chharanagar area, said a senior police official adding that when policemen were checking vehicles, some persons abused policemen and also pelted stones on them which resulted into injuries to three cops.
Chharanagar is ghetto housing colony where over 20,000 members of this notified tribe are residing. The area witnesses frequent police raids as some in the community make a living through illicit liquor trade. However, several members of the community are also known to make contribution to the fields of art, including theatre and movie making.
The police are blaming some youngsters from Chhara community for abusing them and attacking them. On the other hand some locals alleged that because of a PSI who in an inebriated state got into altercation with a local Jigar Indrekar people got angry. It was post this incident, a huge posse of about 300-400 policemen apparently entered Chharanagar and began beating people standing and venting out their anger on parked vehicles by damaging them with batons, claimed some residents in the area. However the police denied any such action.
Meanwhile on Friday activists gathered outside the Sardarnagar Police Station to protest alleged brutality of police on the members of Chhara community. They have threatened to initiate legal action questioning motive of police. If police found any violation by individuals, they should have acted against individual and not against the entire community, said Samshad Pathan an activist, who is also a lawyer.