The Student and Youth Collective Ahmedabad said a reading session in Ahmedabad turned violent on August 27 after men it identified as members of Bajrang Dal objected to Malala Yousafzai's I Am Malala. The group said around 40 students and local residents were at AUDA Garden when the confrontation began.
AUDA Garden in Ahmedabad
SYCA said the session started at 4 pm and that men carrying hockey sticks arrived at the entrance of the garden around 5.30 pm. It said the gathering included books such as The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank and I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai, and described the event as a non-political reading session open to students and residents.
The group alleged that several participants were pushed, punched, kicked and struck with sticks. Among those named by SYCA were Jay Thakkar, M. Shashi Kumar, Savan Zalariya and Sneh Bhavsar, while Swati Goswami was said to have been pulled by her hair and arm and Maitry Chhaiya was alleged to have been slapped.
Jay Thakkar and Aadhya Chhatrola
SYCA said Thakkar was dragged out of the park and beaten. It also said Aadhya Chhatrola was threatened while recording the incident and was warned against continuing to film, with the threat described by the group as making her “disappear”.
The organisation said participants tried to calm the situation by showing books on Bhagat Singh and Nehru and by singing the national anthem, but the confrontation continued. SYCA said books were torn during the clash and that injured participants later filed a First Information Report against members allegedly involved in the assault.
FIR at Vastrapur police station
SYCA said three people accused of involvement were later released on bail. That leaves the immediate question of what specific police action, if any, was taken against the men identified by organisers as being involved in the assault, after the filing of the FIR and the reported bail releases.
