VHP leader Pravin Togadia admitted to hospital after being found unconscious, questions raised

Hours after being "untraceable" from Ahmedabad in the morning, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) international working president Pravin Togadia was found in an unconscious state in Shahibaug area of the city on Monday night and was rushed to a hospital.

The VHP leader, a Z Plus category protectee, went "missing" after stepping out of the VHP headquarters in Paldi area of the city when a contingent of Rajasthan Police came to arrest him in an old case.

According to a statement issued by the VHP in Delhi, Togadia (62), who suffered from low blood sugar levels, was found in an unconscious state in Shahibaug and taken to Chandramani Hospital located in the same area.

Gujarat VHP general secretary Ranchod Bharward said here that Togadia was traced, but didn't disclose where he was found.

"Togadia was brought to the hospital by someone in the 108 ambulance service. He was in an unconscious state," said Dr Rupkumar Agrawal at the hospital.

He said Togadia became unconscious as his sugar level had dipped, but was stable now.

"He is stable now. He was unconscious as his sugar level had dipped...he is stable now," Dr Agrawal said.

Shahibaug is around 12 kms away from the Paldi office of the VHP.

The city police formed four teams to locate the Hindutva leader after he went "missing" from the VHP office on Monday morning.

VHP spokesperson Jay Shah said, "Togadia was brought to the hospital by somebody in a 108 ambulance."

As the word spread, hundreds of VHP workers rushed to the hospital.

The VHP had earlier claimed Togadia was detained by the Rajasthan Police in connection with the case, but the latter denied this.

The mystery over Togadia's disappearance had deepened, with a senior police officer maintaining that neither the local Sola police nor the Rajasthan Police arrested him.

Sola police station officials said a team of Rajasthan Police visited them on Monday to execute an arrest warrant against Togadia under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC, but could not find him at his residence.

According to a senior Crime Branch officer, Togadia, a resident of Thaltej area in the city, boarded an auto-rickshaw from the VHP headquarters in Paldi area this morning and has been untraceable since.

Addressing a press conference on Monday evening, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) JK Bhatt said neither the Sola police nor the Gangapur police in Rajasthan have arrested Togadia.