A team of Gujarat policemen who were allegedly found negligent in allowing murder witness Sylvester Daniel to escape faced severe action on Sunday from the state government as well as their counterparts in Rajasthan.
While suspending them, five of them in all, the Gujarat government admitted they had "facilitated" the "escape" of Daniel alias Dipu from policy custody when he was being taken to Udaipur, in Rajasthan, for a court hearing. The Rajasthan police subsequently nabbed Daniel, a key witness in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsi Prajapati fake encounter cases, being probed by the CBI.
However, he was being taken to Rajasthan for trial in a different case.
Also, the Rajasthan police, on the advice of top officers of Gujarat, arrested four of the five policemen on Saturday on charges of negligence. Later they received bail from a local court.
Those arrested were sub-inspector MS Gohil, head constable Ambalal and constables Ranchhod Jinabhai and Vijay Baburao.
The fifth person was their driver. "They, instead of bringing him back to Gujarat, took him to his house on request. He wanted to meet his family members and had managed to flee from there. A departmental investigation has also been initiated against them," Gujarat acting director general Chitaranjan Singh said while addressing a joint press conference with Vadodara police commissioner Satish Sharma in Gandhinagar.
{{/usCountry}}The fifth person was their driver. "They, instead of bringing him back to Gujarat, took him to his house on request. He wanted to meet his family members and had managed to flee from there. A departmental investigation has also been initiated against them," Gujarat acting director general Chitaranjan Singh said while addressing a joint press conference with Vadodara police commissioner Satish Sharma in Gandhinagar.
{{/usCountry}}The CBI has written to the Udaipur as well as the Vadodara police to submit details of the incident.