Internet Services resume in parts of Gujarat hours after Hardik Patel granted bail

Surat: The mobile Internet 2G and 3G services in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot, have been resumed on Sunday which were suspended yesterday after the detention and subsequent arrest of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) convenor Hardik Patel.

The services were temporarily banned by the state government as a precautionary measure across the state to curb possible rumours and tackle law and order.

Patel community leader Hardik Patel was arrested in Surat yesterday night for defying prohibitory orders clamped ahead of his 'Ekta March' for reservation under OBC quota but was freed on bail by a court soon afterwards.

Hardik's arrest triggered sporadic incidents of violence and protests, though much lesser in scale and intensity compared to last month's incidents when the widescale strife marked the protests by the community members, leading to death of ten persons.

Hardik and 35 of his supporters who were detained from Varachha area in Surat yesterday were produced before a magistrate in Surat who granted them bail on a personal bond of Rs 1000 each, following which he was released late yesterday night.

An FIR was lodged against Hardik for violating prohibitory orders, police had said.

In Kamrej and Kapodara area of Surat, a scuffle erupted between the police and members of public but nobody was injured.

In Botad town of Saurashtra region and in Surat city, incidents of vandalising the state transport buses were reported, said President of Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) Pankaj Kumar.

Following the protest, ST buses heading towards Junagadh, Rajkot and Surat districts were halted for some time to avoid any damages of property and public life, Kumar said.

Patel community members had earlier blocked roads in Navasari, Morbi, Mehsana, Amreli and Jamnagar districts.

Hardik had earlier accused the government of muzzling voice of his community.

Hardik, who has emerged as the prominent face of Patels in Gujarat, has been spearheading the agitation to get reservation for Patel community under Other Backward Class (OBC). 

In past two weeks, Hardik had announced to take out the "reverse Dandi March" twice, but cancelled the plan after Navsari district administration denied permission to them. Hardik has been hogging limelight after his aggressive speech in a rally on August 25 and the subsequent violence that gripped the state after his detention which left 10 people dead in Gujarat. 

(With Agency inputs)