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.

Updated on: Oct 7, 2022, 04:58:51 IST

By Maulik Pathak, Ahmedabad

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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.

In the purported clip that went viral on social media, around five Gujarat policemen are seen flogging four to five men.

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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maulik Pathak
He is an Ahmedabad-based journalist with more than two decades of experience. His career spans business journalism and general news, with reporting across politics, crime, governance, public policy, business, industry, infrastructure, energy, ports, aviation, the environment, wildlife and social issues. He began his career in feature writing before moving into business journalism, reporting on companies and sectors including energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and real estate. Over the years, his work expanded to politics, courts, crime, public policy, civic affairs, the environment and wildlife. His reporting has taken him from government offices and courtrooms to factory floors, ports, forests and remote villages, covering stories that range from industrial investments and financial markets to elections, conservation and issues affecting everyday life. While many assignments demand the pace of the daily news cycle, others require sustained reporting over months and years to follow developments beyond the headlines. He started his journalism career with the Asian Age in Ahmedabad in 2002 as a feature writer and sub-editor. Since 2022, he has been working with Hindustan Times. Earlier, he worked with Business Standard, DNA, The Economic Times, Mint and The Times of India. His longest stint was with Mint, where he spent more than eight years reporting across multiple beats. During his career, he has worked in both reporting and editing roles, contributing to page planning, local editions and special editorial projects as newsrooms evolved from print-first operations to digital publishing. Early in his career, he also worked on media and documentary projects with an NGO and as a copywriter at a communications agency before returning to journalism. Away from work, he sometimes makes time for a pair of binoculars, table tennis, cinema and the occasional poem.Read More

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