More than 170 people have been arrested for attacking non-Gujarati speaking communities.

Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor has rubbished allegations that held him responsible for creating tensions and fanning enmity between Gujaratis and non-Gujaratis after the rape of a 14-month-old girl in Sabarkantha district.

In the last couple of days, attacks on non-Gujarati speaking people have been reported from many parts of the state.

More than 2,500 police personnel have been deployed in Ahmadabad alone and the government has been repeatedly assuring people that the situation will be under control soon.

However, this has failed to convince people as attacks continue on non-Gujarati speaking people at many places.

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Faced with these attacks, hundreds of people from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are returning to their native states to escape the attacks. The fear has aggravated since people with vested interests are openly issuing threats on social media and these messages are reportedly being widely circulated in Gujarat.

Speaking to news agency ANI about the allegations against him, Alpesh Thakor said, "This is unfortunate. We have never advocated violence and only talked of peace. All Indians are safe in Gujarat."

POLICE ASSURANCE FAILS, MASS EXODUS ON

Rajubhai is waiting for a bus that will take him to his village in Bind district of Madhya Pradesh. He has a 2-year-old daughter in his arms and his wife and another daughter accompanies him.

For the past 10 years, Rajubhai has been running a pani puri stall in Ahmadabad. He says things were never bad but the last few days have scared him.

Two days ago, a group of people attacked him and vandalized his stall. "They threatened to kill me if I did not leave Gujarat with my family," he says.

His wife Kamla Devi wonders why innocent people like them are being harassed. "The guilty should be punished. Why are we being harassed for someone else's fault? We have small kids and are being forced to leave everything behind and flee to our village," she says.

The guilty should be punished. Why are we being harassed for someone else's fault? We have small kids and are being forced to leave everything behind and flee to our village - Kamla Devi

Rajubhai's is not the only family that is waiting for a bus to get out of Gujarat. The bus stand in Medhaninagar in Ahmadabad is crowded with families like his who came to Gujarat to make a living.

Everyday buses flooded with people from other states are driving out of the bus stand as people are forced to leave Gujarat.

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Apart from Rajubhai, there's also Malkhan, who has been pulling a rickshaw in Ahmadabad. A few days back, he was attacked by a group and threatened of dire consequences if he fails to leave the city immediately. His rickshaw was destroyed too.

"I was returning home from the civil hospital area when I was attacked by the group. They broke my rickshaw and asked me to leave the city immediately. They said they will kill me if I don't," he said.

They broke my rickshaw and asked me to leave the city immediately. They said they will kill me if I don't - Malkhan

The exodus started after police arrested a man, who is a native of Bihar, for allegedly raping a 14-month-old girl in Sabarkantha. Soon after the arrest, angry locals started attacking non-Gujarati speaking people in the state.

Local groups started threatening people and vandalizing properties of non-Gujarati speaking communities. In some cases, the properties were also gutted. Similar incidents have been reported from other areas too.

As a result, everyday a large number of people are heading to Ahmadabad to try and catch a train or a bus to get out of Gujarat at the earliest. Most of these people were living in areas like Sabarkantha, Mahesana, Aravali, Gandhinagar and Surendranagar.

19 CASES FILED, 170 ARRESTED

Meanwhile, police have registered 19 cases against people threatening non-Gujarati speaking communities. More than 170 people have also been arrested.

Director General of Police Shivanand Jha said some people with vested interests are spreading hatred against people from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh on social media platforms.

"We have alerted the cyber cell to remain vigilant and nab such people," he said.

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