With growing incidents of hate attacks against workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in Gujarat, Patel leader and president of Kishan Kranti Sena, Hardik Patel, has put up posters across Bihar declaring that his organisation is ready to help Biharis in Gujarat.

The posters bear a helpline number 9978520793 and Bihar state unit convener Sanjay Patel’s number.

The posters have a message in Hindi that if any person from north India, including Bihar, working or living in Gujarat faces any type of excesses they can immediately contact the helpline.

The posters bear the picture of Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj and influential writers of modern Hindi literature Phanishwar Nath Renu along with Hardik.

The posters have been put up to repose confidence among people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh living in Gujarat.

For a week there has been a lot of tension in Gujarat after a Bihar native was arrested for allegedly raping a 14-month-old girl in Sabarkantha district in north Gujarat. After the incident, several districts of Gujarat, especially Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Ahmedabad, have witnessed violence against people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. After the incident, several professionals from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have been fleeing Gujarat.

Sanjay Patel, the convener of Kishan Kranti Sena, Bihar unit, said: “The idea behind putting up posters in Bihar is to rebuild confidence among the people from Bihar in Gujarat. If any person who is living in Gujarat feels uncomfortable and scared they can contact their relatives in Bihar through the helpline and they can be rescued. Members of the Kishan Kranti Sena are always ready to help them.”

Patel said posters have been put up in Bihar on the instruction of Hardik Patel and similar posters have been put up at Himmatnagar, Visnagar, Banaskantha, Ahmedabad, Surat and other industrial areas in Gujarat having sizeable population of workers from Bihar and UP.

Ahmedabad commissioner of police (CP) A.K. Singh assured that the Gujarat government is ready to provide any help to people from the two states living in Gujarat.

Singh told The Telegraph from Ahmedabad: “We have arrested more than 180 people on charges of creating disturbance. The police have also identified 114 people, who are spreading rumours and action will be taken against such people too. As most of the hate messages are being spread via the social media, we are looking for people who are spreading the messages.”

The commissioner said there have been stray incidents of violence in rural Ahmedabad, but in the urban belts the situation is under control.