Following massive protest and mob attacks by locals on migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar in connection with the rape of a 14-year-old toddler, several workers have fled from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Several Hindi-speaking migrants who have lived in Gujarat for years, were seen with their bags and small children, waiting for the buses under Ahmedabad’s Chanakyapuri flyover which would take them home to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. In some cases, landlords had asked them to leave, said some of the migrants waiting for a bus in the afternoon sun Saturday.
Some 20 buses, each packed with more than 80 passengers, left for UP, MP and Bihar Saturday. Normally, no more than a handful of buses leave on these long-distance routes every week.
Also read: Gujarat: 150 arrested for targetting migrants from UP, Bihar after 14-month-old’s rape
The massive migration is driven by fear of mobs who are seemingly angry over the alleged rape of a 14-month-old girl that happened last week on September 28, in a village near Himmatnagar town of Sabarkantha district, around 100 km from Ahmedabad. The victim belonged to the Thakor community.
After the incident, the workers were targeted in few parts of the state after hate messages against non-Gujaratis, particularly those from Bihar and UP, were circulated on social media.
At least 170 persons have been arrested so far in connection to the attacks.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel Saturday said that he has written to Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy of the Gujarat High Court seeking speedy trial in the rape case of a 14-month old girl.
