Former IPS officer D.G.
Former IPS officer D.G. Vanzara, accused in a string of fake encounter cases, on Sunday stirred a controversy when he put a garland with a toy pistol around the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at a rally organised by his supporters in Surat.
The incident triggered sharp reactions from the Congress as well as the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) whose members removed the garland after Vanzara had left the venue.
Vanzara, a key accused in the alleged fake encounter killings of Ishrat Jahan, Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsi Prajapati, was in Surat to attend the rally.
Before the rally, he put a garland, having a pen and a toy pistol tied to it, around Sardar Patel’s statue. When asked about the rationale behind offering such a garland, Vanzara told reporters that it was a “symbolic tribute” to Patel’s contribution to uniting hundreds of princely states after independence.
“It was Sardar Patel who had convinced more than 665 princely states to join the Union of India after independence. Though a majority of states got convinced and acceeded, some like Junagadh and Hyderabad raised their head in protest,” he said.
