Before he could stage any protest, the Gujarat police detained Patel community leader Hardik Patel and his aides near the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) stadium, the venue of the third one-day international between India and South Africa.
He had earlier threatened to stage protests at the ODI venue to highlight the Patels’ demand for reservation.
Mr. Patel who came in a farmer’s attire, shouted ‘Jay Sardar’ and ‘Jay Patidar,’ as the cops took him away in a van.
The police later brought the 22-year-old to the State Reserve Police camp near Rajkot. Following his detention, security was beefed up across the State.
However, Patidar members torched a State transport bus near Morbi town and briefly blocked some highways at several places in Surat, North Gujarat and Rajkot.
Internet blocked
In Rajkot where the district administration blocked mobile Internet services, over 2,000 personnel, including from the State Reserve Police and Rapid Action Force (RAF), were deployed in the city and near the stadium.
“Mobile Internet services have been suspended to see that rumours are not spread. The services will remain off till the match is over,” said Rajkot District Collector Manisha Chandra.
On Saturday, Mr. Patel had threatened to hold a huge protest and block the routes to the stadium if the Patidars were not allowed to see the match. He had also alleged that some BJP leaders from Rajkot had bought all the tickets to keep the Patidars away from the match.
Saurashtra Cricket Association president Niranjan Shah denied bulk sale but said the administration collected the ID details of those who purchased the tickets.
