Ahmedabad: Fearing their safety, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar migrant workers are leaving Gujarat after being attacked by angry mobs following the alleged rape of a 14-month-old child on September 28.

According to police, hate messages against non-Gujaratis being circulated on social media have led to people, especially from UP and Bihar, being targeted by mobs.

The 14-month-old child, belonging to the Thakor family, was allegedly raped in a village in the Sabarkantha district on September 28, after which a labourer named Ravindra Sahu from Bihar was arrested.

The incident led to the Kshatriya Thakor Sena demanding that migrant workers from other states should not be employed in Gujarat. The furious Sena members even allegedly led a mob to attack employees at a factory near Vadnagar on October 2. In the last one week, police say, many such incidents have occurred in various districts of the state and they have arrested at least 170 people in connection with the rampant attacks.

Migrant workers have started leaving the state for their hometowns out of fear for their safety.

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel Saturday has also written to Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy of the Gujarat High Court asking for a special fast-track court be set up so that the trials 14-month-old’s rape case and the Surat rape case can be “completed in a month or so”. He added that they have sought for the “harshest punishment” for the accused.