Youth collective demands Gujarat home minister's apology, action over book-reading mob attack

By A Representative 

A group of students and youth activists in Ahmedabad has issued a set of demands to the authorities after alleging that a peaceful reading session was violently disrupted by members of the Bajrang Dal in broad daylight on August 27, with police allegedly standing by and later diluting the First Information Report to protect the accused. 

Speaking at a press conference, representatives of the Student and Youth Collective demanded that police arrest the two identified principal accused, Hiren Rabari and Jimit Rabari, within seventy-two hours, stressing that available evidence indicates the assault was premeditated and expressing deep concern over the lack of urgency in responding to an armed attack on peaceful citizens in daylight. They further called for the Bajrang Dal to be banned from public life in Gujarat and across India, arguing that the group’s actions make the state unsafe for citizens exercising democratic rights. 

The collective held the state government and police apparatus directly responsible for failing to protect citizens who were merely reading, and raised questions about possible collusion between the police and the Bajrang Dal, specifically asking why the attackers were allowed to remain at the police station on the evening of the assault and why the preliminary FIR was diluted. 

They called upon Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi to respond to their concerns, take responsibility, and apologize for the police and state’s failure to protect citizens. The speakers warned that if their demands were not met, they would mobilize students, youth, and the wider public through sit-ins and other actions to demand accountability and redress.

The allegations were detailed by speakers YSK Prerana, Nikita Chatterjee, Hozefa Ujjaini, and Subodh Kumud, who stated that the Student and Youth Collective Ahmedabad and Gujarat Reads Anyway, both volunteer-led groups with no political affiliations, organized a silent reading session at AUDA Garden near the DEO Office in Vastrapur at 4 p.m. on August 27. Public communications, including posters and social media posts, described the gathering as a peaceful session for reading books by scholars, thinkers, and activists from around the world. 

Approximately forty participants attended, bringing works including Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl and Malala Yousafzai’s I Am Malala, which were also made available at the circle for others to read.

According to the collective, at around 5:30 p.m., a group of men carrying hockey sticks appeared at the garden gate but did not immediately interfere. However, as participants began wrapping up at 6 p.m., the men approached the readers and began questioning the purpose of the gathering. The men, carrying orange flags and scarves and chanting "Jai Shree Ram," identified themselves as members of the Bajrang Dal and were reportedly led by Hiren Rabari. 

The statement quoted the attackers as having said, "pant utar ke dekh lena ki vo muslim hai ki nahi" (take off their pants and see if they are Muslims). Volunteers attempted to de-escalate the situation by showing the attackers books on Bhagat Singh and Jawaharlal Nehru, but the men refused to engage in dialogue and continued screaming in an effort to provoke the readers.

The situation escalated when the Bajrang Dal members repeatedly demanded to know why participants were reading Malala Yousafzai’s book. When one participant invited them to sit and talk, they refused and appeared ready to assault those present. The attackers then began chanting slogans, shouting, and pushing participants into a corner, aggressively questioning everyone and singling out individuals for targeted intimidation. As the threats intensified, participants began singing the Indian national anthem in an attempt to calm the mob. 

After the anthem, the readers chanted "Bharat Mata Ki Jai," but the Bajrang Dal members accused one participant of disrespecting the anthem because his shoulder moved during the recitation, and accused another of not chanting the slogan, after which they began beating one individual and tearing up books, including one by Bhagat Singh.

The violence quickly spread as more attackers joined in, pushing participants and wielding heavy sticks and lathis in what the organizers described as a premeditated assault. The mob attempted to lynch the readers without provocation, and at no point did the participants retaliate violently, the statement emphasized. 

The attackers dragged one participant out of the park while continuously beating him with lathis on his feet, back, legs, left elbow, head, and stomach, and punching and kicking him across his body. Another participant was beaten on the head, left hand, both legs, elbow, and back. The mob separated readers and assaulted them at different locations, slapping, scratching, and punching them before forcing them toward a police van. 

Even in the presence of police officers, the beating continued, with one participant struck on the forehead, eyes, jaws, and back with a lathi while being put into the vehicle. The attackers also struck a police officer on the hand during the melee. Another participant had his glasses broken and was beaten on his left ankle, head, and waist with lathis, bats, and punches before being forced into the van. Female participants were also assaulted; one was roughly grabbed by the arm and had her hair pulled, while another was slapped on her back multiple times. All were taken to Vastrapur Police Station.

The statement also noted that one participant was filming the incident when the attackers threatened her openly, warning that if she did not stop recording, they would "make her disappear and no one would find her," a threat that was captured on camera. One attacker reportedly sought her out and attempted to seize her phone by force, but she screamed and managed to escape. 

Outside the garden, the attackers were allegedly spreading false narratives, claiming that "anti-nationals and terrorists had ganged up inside the park" and needed to be taught a lesson. Despite the assault occurring in broad daylight in the presence of police and passersby, only the readers were taken into custody, while none of the attackers were detained.

The injured participants subsequently filed an FIR against the Bajrang Dal members, and the collective stated it possesses video evidence to support all claims. 

However, the organizers expressed dismay that three of the accused were released on bail shortly after the incident. They further alleged that the initial FIR filed at Vastrapur Police Station omitted critical details provided by the complainants, a failure they attributed to the presence of the same Bajrang Dal members responsible for the assault at the police station. The collective characterized this as a grave institutional failure and noted that one of the accused had publicly claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened to repeat it. 

In response, the complainants submitted an application to the Deputy Commissioner of Police for Zone 1 in Navrangpura requesting that the full gravity of the attack be reinstated in the record and that corrective action be taken. The complainants also returned to Vastrapur Police Station on Sunday to provide additional statements.