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Gujarat police order inquiry into flogging incident after furore
Kapadvanj deputy superintendent of police VM Solanki on Thursday was directed to hold a detailed probe and submit a report on the purported incident that took place on October 3, the official said on condition of anonymity.
The Gujarat police has ordered an inquiry into a purported video clip of a group of policemen flogging some Muslim men for allegedly hurling stones at a Navratri event in Kheda district earlier this week, a senior police official aware of the matter said on Thursday.
Kapadvanj deputy superintendent of police VM Solanki on Thursday was directed to hold a detailed probe and submit a report on the purported incident that took place on October 3, the official said on condition of anonymity.
In the purported clip that went viral on social media, policemen are seen flogging around four to five men. A crowd is seen cheering as the cops direct the men to get into a police van parked nearby.
The incident is believed to have taken place in Undhela village of Matar taluka.
HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
The order for a probe into the matter came even as state Minority Co-ordination Committee convener Mujahid Nafees sent a legal notice to the state government, state home department, Gujarat directorate general of police and Kheda superintendent of police, seeking suitable action against the erring policemen.
“Those who were flogged are all belonging to the minority Muslim community. Despite the atrocity at the behest of the police personnel having been widely reported, no action has been taken/initiated till date and is in complete violation of all rights of those flogged by those who are responsible for maintaining law and order,” the notice, a copy of which HT has seen, said.
“The police personnel who are responsible for flogging and are yet to be identified are bound by the Code of Criminal Procedure and have no right to physically hit or intimidate anyone… There is no section in any police manual or Indian Penal Code that allows police to indiscriminately assault citizens,” it added.
A total of 43 people have been accused of disrupting a garba procession at Undhela village, according to an FIR filed by one Indravan Patel at Matar police station on October 3. HT has seen a copy of the FIR.
“The accused had gathered a group of 150-200 people from the Muslim community, armed with sticks and sharp weapons, attempted to disrupt the Hindu festival. They hurled stones and attacked the people who had gathered there for Navratri. Also, they ransacked cars, destroyed the property of the DJ and attacked a Swaminarayan temple in the area,” the FIR said.
So far, 20 of the 43 accused have been arrested, a police official said.
