Hardik Patel, the controversial leader of the Patel community who is heading their fight for reservations, has claimed he was abducted by unknown people who "looked like policemen" and had guns.
Patel, who was termed as "missing" by the Gujarat Police, said he was abducted on Tuesday by "cop-like" people and was later released on a highway near the Dhrangadhra town in Surendranagar district.
"Hardik was released some 150 km from the place where he was picked up by people having guns with them. He was also threatened," Patel's lawyer told the media.
Patel told the media that the people who kidnapped him looked like policemen, according to The Times of India.
Hardik Patel's 'disappearance' had led to high drama in Gujarat, as his aides filed a habeas corpus petition alleging that the police had detained him illegally.
The Gujarat High Court heard the petition in a rare late-night hearing on Tuesday and ordered the state government to produce Patel by Thursday.
The Gujarat Police had claimed that Patel disappeared when they tried to detain him in Aravalli district.
Hardik Patel had led a massive rally in Ahmedabad last month to demand reservation for the Patel youths in government jobs and educational institutions.
The rally led to days of violence in Gujarat, resulting in at least five deaths and destruction across the state.
The youth leader has challenged Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi that he will not allow the "lotus to bloom" in the 2017 assembly elections in Gujarat unless their demands are met.
