By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The working president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Pravin Togadia, alleged on Tuesday that there was a plot to kill him. His allegation saw the Congress and Patidar leader Hardik Patel rallying behind the Hindutva leader and targeting the BJP.

Addressing reporters in Ahmedabad a day after he was found unconscious near a local hospital, a tearful Togadia claimed that he had received a tip-off that he would be eliminated in a police encounter. “The Rajasthan Police had come to arrest me, but I got wind of it and switched off my mobile phone,” he said.

Togadia claimed he had spoken to the Rajasthan and Gujarat chief ministers and they had told him that no police action had been initiated against him, which raised his suspicion. Togadia said he decided to take a flight to Jaipur and appear before the court in Gangapur.

He claimed that it was on his way to the airport in an autorickshaw that he had fallen unconscious, and on gaining consciousness found himself in a hospital.Dismissing Togadia’s claim, the Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, J K Bhatt said, “Z-plus is one of the best security covers. It is nearly impossible to get killed in an encounter.”While VHP leaders expressed concern at Togadia’s claims, Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia and Hardik visited him in hospital.