Hardik Patel Hardik Patel

Two state transport buses were torched in Botad by suspected Patidar mobs as the “indefinite fast” undertaken by incarcerated quota stir leader Hardik Patel entered its fourth day on Sunday.

The first incident took place around 11.45 pm Saturday when a group of 35 unidentified people stopped a Botad-bound Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) bus near Lathidad village, around 15 km from Botad.

The mob asked the lone passenger, driver and conductor to get down from the bus and then set the vehicle on fire, said police. The bus was coming from Palanpur in Banaskantha district. The Botad City police have lodged an FIR for rioting, criminal conspiracy and damaging public property on the basis of a complaint filed by the bus driver Ramesh Rabari. A similar incident was reported from Turkha village in the district. According to Paliyad police, a GSRTC bus was stopped by a mob around 8.35 pm Sunday and the passengers were asked to get down. Soon, the bus was torched by the protesters.

Hardik taken back to jail in Surat

Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel was shifted to Lajpore jail in Surat Sunday from New Civil Hospital (NCH) after his condition improved. Medical Superinte-ndent of NCH M K Wadhel confirmed shifting of Hardik to jail.

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