2006 Vadodara riots
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(3 Days)
| 2006 Vadodara riots | |
|---|---|
| Date | 1 May 2006 – 3 May 2006 (3 Days) |
| Location | Vadodara district, Gujarat, India 22°18′11″N 73°12′38″E / 22.303176°N 73.210545°E |
| Caused by | Caused by the municipal council's decision to remove the 200-year-old dargah |
| Casualties | |
| Death | 8 |
| Injuries | 42 |
  Vadodara Location of riots in Gujarat, India | |
The 2006 Vadodara riots also known as the 2006 Dargah riots occurred on 1 May of that year in the city of Vadodara in the state of Gujarat in India.[1][2] The riots were caused by the municipal council's decision to remove the dargah (shrine) of Syed Chishti Rashiduddin, a medieval Sufi saint.[3] The shrine was between two and three hundred years old.[4][5] The incident resulted in six to eight people being killed and forty-two injured, 16 of these were from police shooting.[4][6]
The dargah was first mentioned in a municipal survey carried out in 1912, when Vadodara was the princely state of Baroda ruled by Sayajirao Gaekwad III.[7] The city Mayor, Sunil Solanki, had said that the council were removing illegal buildings as part of a road widening programme and that they had already removed 20 temples and three dargahs.[4]
On 2 April, the Gujarat High Court looked into the incidents suo motu and decided that "encroachments on public roads cannot be tolerated", and that if needed, "anti-socials" who opposed these demolitions should be arrested before the demolition was carried out. The Supreme Court overturned the judgment on 4 April and ordered a temporary stay on demolition of illegal religious structures, due to the situation being volatile."[4]
The commissioner for police, Deepak Swaroop, had requested caution on the issue. But Solanki insisted on the programme continuing as the shrine was in the way of development. It is reported that he said "If the police and the corporation will not do it, our boys in the Bajrang Dal will do it."[4][8]