AHMEDABAD, INDIA, April 14, 2002: When communal violence tore the state apart, Someshwar Pandya attempted to keep the social fabric together, according to this report in the Times of India. On Saturday morning, Pandya, of Sardarpura, a village where 32 members of the Muslim community were burnt alive on March 1, was attacked by six persons armed with sickles and lathis. He was admitted to the Civil Hospital here with deep wounds on the forehead. “They had threatened me with dire consequences for helping the Muslims in the village,” Pandya told the Times. He has identified all six assailants and named them in an report lodged with the Vijapur police station. Pandya is the general secretary of the Vijapur unit of the Congress and is reported to have helped minorities to shift to safer places after March 1 attack. He is also said to have helped several riot-affected get their complaints registered which were not being accepted by the police.
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