A Report in Indian Express, 7 August, 1999

A former councillor arrested for carrying arms and leading a mob of 500. Another "unofficially" charged with burning a constable's two-wheeler. The husband of yet another former councillor hacked to death for an old rivalry.

Has Surat paid the price for incompetent policing and the lawlessness of the ruling BJP members? After five deaths, countless injuries, police atrocities and damage worth of lakhs of rupees in arson and looting, the answer seems to be yes. Even the police took the law into their hands, compounding the problem.

The communal fires that broke out on August 3 in the wake of the Gujarat Bandh call given by the VHP and other Hindu organisations are yet to douse in Surat. The police did little to anticipate trouble and allowed the situation to go out of hands ...

But more than the police, it is the lawlessness on part of the BJP cadre that has cost the city dearly. BJP activists even targeted police when things did not go their way.

While the BJP has decided not to back former councillor Ganesh Prajapati who was caught with arms it is keeping its option open about Suresh Varodia who openly dared the police ... charged with instigating a mob that torched a constable's two-wheeler.

Surat BJP president Pravin Naik ... accuses the police being very harsh on the rioters. He unwittingly owns up the allegation that the Bandh and the subscquent riots were caused by elements sympathetic to his party. "They know all of us are branches of the same tree", he adds ... What clearly points an accusing finger at the police was the incident at the Rangavdhoot Society in the Rander area ...

Policemen ransacked a house and beat up the residents ... The mob entered the Rangavdhoot society along with  a police jeep, residents said, and pointed towards the Muslim houses.

... Commenting on the incident, Minister of State for Home Haren Pandya said: "When the climate is such, incidents occur, there is nothing special".

Most of the riot victims were innocent people who were targeted either by the police or by rioting mobs in different city areas ...

Rehabilitate Displaced Muslims in Gujarat

Shahabuddin to HM Advani, 8 August, 2000

May I draw your attention to the communal situation in Gujarat, particularly in Surat and Sabarkantha Districts. Atthough communal violence which had been ignited by the Gujarat Bandh jointly organised by the VHP, the Bajrang Dal and the BJP on the killing of Amarnath pilgrims in J&K, has largely abated, Muslims are being reportedly threatened by the VHP-Bajrang Dal activists in Limbayat (Surat) and Lambadia (Sabarkantha) have left their houses to save their lives.

There have also been reports that the local police is virtually working under the control of the local VHP-Bajrang Dal leadership. This adds to the sense of insecurity of the Muslim community.

I request you to advise the Government of Gujarat to take suitable measures to restore peace and normally so that the displaced Muslims may return to their homes and also to compensate them suitably for loss of life, limb and property.

I also request you to make central paramilitary forces available to the State Government for posting in Muslim localities, till normalcy returns.