VHP Chief Pravin Togadia Lost, Then Found, Now Alleges 'Foul Play'

Ahmedabad, Jan 16: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) chief Pravin Togadia, who went missing a day earlier, attacked the government while addressing a press conference on Tuesday. The firebrand Hindutva leader said he is being targeted through a "well-hatched conspiracy", and attempts are being made to "suppress" his voice.

Togadia said he left home on Monday morning 11 am, without his security cover. "I had switched off my phone," he claimed, in a bid to prevent himself from being traced.

Togadia, the International Working President of VHP, was reportedly found unconscious late night on Monday. He was spotted by a person in in a park near Kotarpur area, in east Ahmedabad. He was rushed to the Chandramani Hospital, where doctors found his sugar level low.

A police team from the BJP-ruled Rajasthan had launched a search operation to nab Togadia yesterday, for his alleged involvement in a case which dates back to 2006.

"I am being targeted for a decade old case. There is an attempt to suppress my voice. Rajasthan police team came to arrest me. Someone told me, a plan was being made to kill me in an encounter," the VHP supremo told reporters here.

Togadia, 61, is protected under Z-plus security. Questioning the state government over his "disappearance", Patidar leader Hardik Patel said, "Why is the State's Home Minister silent? Why has his security guard not been suspended? Why are BJP and VHP leaders not concerned?"

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 16, 2018 12:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).