For this child, the Patel rally in Gujarat proved deadlier than a snake bite On the morning of August 26, the day after Hardik Patel's showcase rally in Ahmedabad, 14-year-old Sanjay Thakor was bitten by a snake. The venom was acting fast, and his panicked family rushed him to the nearest hospital. But Sanjay lived in Gangapura, an inconspicuous village of just 13 homes, 75 kilometres from Ahmedabad. The nearest hospital was in Mehsana city. When they got there, Sanjay was barely conscious, but the hospital staff didn't admit him. "They asked for a Rs 15,000 deposit. And said we had to file a police case first," said Somaji Thakor, Sanjay's uncle. "A police case for a snake bite! Did they want us to sue the animal?" When Sanjay was finally admitted in the afternoon, another problem cropped up. The Patel rally in Ahmedabad had turned violent the previous night, Gujarat was preparing to bring army troops into its cities and there were curfews everywhere. "Many of the doctors must have been Patidars. Because of the curfew, only two doctors showed up that day, managing all the patients in the hospital," said Somaji. "No one attended Sanjay for a long time and when they did, he was not treated properly." On the evening of August 26, as tensions between Patels and the police in Gujarat grew, 14-year-old Sanjay Thakor died of the snake bite. Read more on Scroll.in. Photo by Aarefa Johari. #rovingcorrespondent #Gujaratdiaries #Gujarat #India #Hardikpatel #Riots

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On the morning of August 26, the day after Hardik Patel's showcase rally in Ahmedabad, 14-year-old Sanjay Thakor was bitten by a snake. The venom was acting fast, and his panicked family rushed him to the nearest hospital. But Sanjay lived in Gangapura, an inconspicuous village of just 13 homes, 75 kilometres from Ahmedabad. The nearest hospital was in Mehsana city.

When they got there, Sanjay was barely conscious, but the hospital staff didn't admit him. "They asked for a Rs 15,000 deposit. And said we had to file a police case first," said Somaji Thakor, Sanjay's uncle. "A police case for a snake bite! Did they want us to sue the animal?"

Paying Rs 15,000 at a government hospital was inconceivable for anyone in Gangapura, a neglected village of impoverished Thakors, a caste group counted among the Other Backward Classes in Gujarat. Hardik Patel has often accused OBCs of taking away precious college seats and government jobs from the Patels, but in Gangapura, most Thakors were daily wage labourers working in Patel-owned businesses or farms.

At the Mehsana hospital, Sanjay's family pleaded and negotiated with the administrative staff, paying up all the money they had on them. But when Sanjay was finally admitted in the afternoon, another problem cropped up. The Patel rally in Ahmedabad had turned violent the previous night, Gujarat was preparing to bring army troops into its cities and there were curfews everywhere.

"Many of the doctors must have been Patidars. Because of the curfew, only two doctors showed up that day, managing all the patients in the hospital," said Somaji. "No one attended Sanjay for a long time and when they did, he was not treated properly."

On the evening of August 26, as tensions between Patels and the police in Gujarat grew, 14-year-old Sanjay Thakor died of the snake bite.