MP: Hardik Patel arrested on his way to Mandsaur

Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel was on Tuesday detained in Neemuch while he was on his way to Mandsaur to meet the families of the six farmers killed in police firing.

While speaking to media persons, Patel said,''I am not a terrorist. I have not come from Lahore. I am an Indian citizen and can go to any place in India freely. Members of my family have been killed and I came to meet their families.''

Farmers' protests that started in the state on June 1, for better prices for their produce and debt relief, turned violent on June 6 when six farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur. The violence spilled over to several other districts, including the Malwa-Nimad area and even reached the state capital. Angry farmers blocked roads, vandalised property and set fire to vehicles.

After the farmers' killing, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has ordered a judicial probe.

Hardik, who had spent six months of exile in Udaipur after a Gujarat High Court order, had returned to his hometown in January this year. He was staying at a former Congress MLA's house during this period. He was released from jail in Gujarat after nine months in confinement in July last year.

In Mandsaur, curfew was imposed after the five farmers were killed in two incidents of police firing during the protest on June 6.

OneIndia News