Hardik Patel has demanded that the family of each victim be given 30 lakh in compensation and has accused the police of using excessive force on protesters.
The Gujarat High Court has ordered an investigation by the state's CID into the death of a 32-year-old man, Shwetang Patel, whose family alleges he died in police custody on Tuesday in Ahmedabad, as violence gripped the city after the brief detention of politician Hardik Patel.
Shwetang Patel's family has moved court alleging that he was picked up by the police from around his residence on Tuesday night. The next morning they were told that he had died.
The court noted today that the death "looked homicidal".
"When we went to the police station, they told us that he had been admitted to a hospital and wanted me to sign on a blank paper. I refused to do that, but later I was taken to hospital and was shown his body. I want justice for my son," Shwetang's mother told NDTV, sobbing inconsolably.
The family says that Shwetang was not an activist or protester. But the police have alleged that the young man was part of a mob involved in arson in the Bapunagar area. They have also said it is unclear how he died.
His family says that Shwetang was not an activist nor was he protesting alongside Hardik Patel.
As news spread late on Tuesday evening that 22-year-old Hardik Patel had been detained, enraged supporters clashed with the police and allegedly ransacked and set fire to public property in Ahmedabad and other parts of Gujarat. Eight people, including a policeman, were killed, four of them allegedly in police firing.
Hardik Patel, the face of a massive agitation for reservation in government jobs and colleges for the Patel community in Gujarat, has demanded that the family of each person killed be given 30 lakh in compensation and that murder cases be registered against policeman.
The Gujarat High Court has summoned the state's Home Secretary on a petition that alleges the police used excessive force on protestors.
In CCTV footage, police officers are seen vandalising vehicles parked in residential areas.
Curfew was imposed in parts of Ahmedabad and other cities and on Wednesday, the Army was called in to restore law and order.