In Sabarkantha, villagers block highway and attack policemen after accident; 42 arrested | Ahmedabad News

“The death triggered an uproar among the villagers as there had been several accidents at this spot in the recent past and they blocked the Himmatnagar-Shamlaji highway. The police immediately reached the spot but were attacked by the assembled mob. Three policemen were injured and were treated on an outpatient basis. A police van was also burnt down.”

Tear gas grenades were fired to disperse the mob, causing the mob to flee into nearby fields.

An FIR filed on the basis of a complaint by Indravijaysinh Rahevar, superintendent of police of Gambhoi police station, names 42 accused, including three women, all residents of Gamdi village.

When police reached the spot at around 6:30 am after being informed about the blockade of the highway, a “mob of around 500 to 700 people” refused to budge and demanded that the local MP, district collector or district superintendent of police be summoned, the FIR said. The mob then allegedly pelted police vans with stones and branches, burnt tyres and then surrounded DySP Atul Patel’s police van and set it on fire. Police estimate that the mob caused damage worth around Rs 1.5 crore.

The defendants were charged under sections 307 (attempted murder), 436 (causing damage to property by fire or explosive substances), 337 (causing personal injury by rash or negligent act, endangering life), 323 (intentional causing personal injury), 441 (trespass), 427 (causing damage to property), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147, 148 (riot) and 149 (common property) of the Penal Code and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.