Protesters call for Gujarat shutdown Monday
July 21st, 2008 - 1:11 am ICT by IANS
Ahmedabad, July 20 (IANS) A group of 15 social organisations, demanding a thorough probe into the death of two boys from religious leader Asaram Bapu’s ashram here, have called for a Gujarat shutdown Monday. Officials said the Narendra Modi government was set to announce a judicial inquiry in the matter and details would be worked out in consultation with the Gujarat High Court chief justice.
“We expect people from across Gujarat to voluntarily support the shutdown call to register protest against the gruesome incident and the state government remaining deaf over the issue,” said Naresh Shah, convenor of the Jagega Gujarat Sangharsh Samiti (JGSS) that is leading the protesting organisations.
The Gujarat unit of the opposition Congress as well as the Jamait-i-Ulema have supported for the call.
Dipesh Vaghela, 10, and his cousin Abhishek Vaghela, 11, who had gone missing from the Gurukul school of the ashram July 4, were found dead a day later. Their parents and others suspect they had fallen victim to some black magic rituals.
A protest on the Guru Purnima day Friday had turned violent.
On Sunday, a mob set fire to one city bus and damaged three others.
The Congress has supported the agitation, putting the Modi government on the back foot.
“It’s been over 15 days, but the state government has not made any announcement over investigation into the matter. The Vaghelas’ demand for a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) inquiry has found no response from the government,” said Siddharth Patel, president of the Gujarat unit of the Congress.
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Tags: agitation, ahmedabad, bapu, black magic rituals, cbi, central bureau of investigation, chief justice, city bus, convenor, gruesome incident, gujarat high court, guru purnima, judicial inquiry, narendra modi, opposition congress, religious leader, siddharth, social organisations, two boys, vaghela
