AHMEDABAD/PATNA: Additional forces were deployed in industrial areas in Gujarat for the security of Hindi-speaking migrants after attacks on them sparked their exodus that prompted the state government on Monday to make an appeal for their return.Assuring security to the migrants, the Gujarat government said 431 people were arrested and 56 FIRs registered in connection with the attacks, as chief minister Vijay Rupani appealed to people not to engage in violence.Claiming that no untoward incident had taken place during the last 48 hours, Rupani said the situation has been brought under control by police. he told reporters in Rajkot.Chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar — Yogi Adityanath and Nitish Kumar — and Union minister and BJP ally Ram Vilas Paswan, who hails from Bihar, spoke to Rupani to voice their concern over the attacks.Since the alleged rape of a 14-month-old girl in Sabarkantha district on September 28, six districts, most of them in north Gujarat, have witnessed sporadic incidents of violence against Hindi-speaking people, police said.Police have arrested Ravindra Sahu, a labourer hailing from Bihar and working in a local ceramic factory, for the crime.Uttar Bharatiya Vikas Parishad president Maheshsingh Kushwah claimed that over 20,000 people belonging to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar had already fled Gujarat due to the prevailing situation. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Monday spoke to his Gujarat counterpart Vijay Rupani and expressed his concern about the violent attacks at non-Gujaratis, including those from Bihar, by mobs seemingly angry over the rape of a minor earlier this week. "Adityanath said the Gujarat chief minister told him that his government has ensured the safety of all and that are all welcome.Rupani also informed there had not been any incident since the past three days and he has also appealed to people against paying any heed to rumours, Adityanath told reporters in Lucknow.Adityanath said Gujarat is a peace loving state and a model of development and that those do not want development spread rumours.
A total of 342 people have been arrested for attacking Hindi-speaking migrants in the Indian state of Gujarat. The new wave of violence was prompted by the arrest of a non-Gujarati for the alleged rape of a 14-month-old baby a week prior.