Hardik Patel, who is spearheading the Patel reservation movement in Gujarat, on Tuesday gave police a slip, who tried to detain him for organising a public meeting without prior permission at a village in Aravalli district.
After Hardik addressed the meeting at <g data-gr-id="29">Tenpur</g> village, the police tried to detain him but he fled in a vehicle, a senior police officer said. “Hardik today held a public meeting in <g data-gr-id="30">Tenpur</g> village in <g data-gr-id="31">Bayad</g> taluka without taking a prior permission. As we came to know about it, our police team went there to detain him but he ran away to evade detention,” said Inspector General of Police <g data-gr-id="32">Hasmmukh</g> Patel.
After the incident, police have put up barricades on roads in <g data-gr-id="26">Gandhiangar</g>, Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts and intensified combing operation in the region to detain him, the IG said, adding that Hardik may be detained in the night.
“We did not arrest him during the meeting because we did not wish to create a friction with locals,” the officer said.
He said: “After the meeting, we intercepted <g data-gr-id="35">their</g> (Hardik’s supporters) four vehicles outside the village, but two of the vehicles took a U-turn and managed to flee. Hardik was in one of them.”
The officer said the police have cordoned off the areas surrounding the place to detain the Patel leader. “He (Hardik) is running here and there,” he added. “We have the information that he is trying to run here and there from villages in Aravalli or neighbouring Sabarkantha district. He has been running here and there to evade his arrest,” the officer said.
He said Hardik would be booked for illegally holding the meeting. "He (Hardik) will be detained for holding the public gathering illegally without taking prior permission,” the IG said.