Gujarat: Tension grips Palanpur town after graveyard vandalised

Tension gripped Palanpur in Banaskantha district of Gujarat on Monday after a man was arrested for alleged vandalism of a graveyard, police said.

The arrest triggered a protest by a group of people and led to tension, they said.

The man, identified as Ashok Purohit, was arrested late Sunday night for allegedly vandalising the graveyard.  Four others, including two unidentified persons, were booked after the trustee of the Navrang Ali-pir cemetery lodged an FIR, Banaskantha Superintendent of Police Pradip Sejul said.

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According to the complainant, five persons - Ashok Purohit, Vijay Joshi, Dhaval Joshi and two unidentified - smashed the gate of the graveyard, looted a DVR security system and damaged the CCTV cameras installed there, he said.

They also thrashed the persons present at the site, he said.

As Purohit was brought to the Palanpur East police station, a large crowd gathered there seeking his release, Sejul said.

The situation has been brought under control, but police patrolling intensified across the city, he said.

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The group vandalised the graveyard on the pretext that its gate was raised and other constructions were done without obtaining permission from the local civic body, the SP said.

“The situation is well under control. Police patrolling has been increased in the town,” he said.

The five persons were booked under sections 395 (dacoity), 452 (trespass) and 295 (defiling place of worship), among others of the IPC, the police officer added.