Dalits' death in police firing: Gujarat's top cops indifferent towards gross rights violation, alleges senior activist

Has the Gujarat government adopted a "go slow" tactic vis-a-vis the gruesome incident in Thangarh, Surendrangar district, which took place in September last year, in which three Dalit youths died in police firing? Senior Dalit activist Kirit Rathod of NGO Navsarjan Trust appears to think this is very much the case, "While the Gujarat Human Rights Commission (GHRC) directed, on March 23, 2013, that the director-general of police (DGP) and the CID crime, who sit in Police Bhawan in Gandhinagar, to immediately provide a complete report on the firing incident, even a month after the order the state's top cops have not act", he has said in a statement.
The GHRC order followed the activist's complaint to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) that the CBI take over investigation of the case. Yet, the Gujarat government appears not interested in bringing culprits to book. On receiving the complaint, the NHRC asked the GHRC to look into the matter. Based on the NHRC direction, the GHRC asked the DGP and the CID crime to provide full details of the incident, in order to send details of the incident to the NHRC.
In a letter demanding a special investigation team of the CBI take over inquiry, Rathod, asked Justice KG Balakrishnan, chairman, NHRC, that in two separate incidents, on September 22 and 23, 2012, in Thangadh town in Surendrangagar district, "at least four persons" died. Located in Chotila taluka of Surendrangar district, Thangadh is 20 km away from Chotila town and 60 km away from Surendranagar city. With a population of Thangadh of 1,25,000, out of which around 30,000 are Dalits, Thangadh is known for ceramic industry which the main enterprise. Majority of the people staying in Thangadh are dependant on ceramic industry.
On September 21, 2012, Bharwads and Dalits came face-to-face after a petty fight at a local fair organized by the Thangadh municipality. It snowballed into a major clash with both sides using sticks and sharp weapons. Police officials said they lobbed teargas shells to disperse the rampaging crowds. When this did not work, they fired at the crowd. Seventeen-year-old Pankaj Sumra was seriously injured in the firing and later died in a hospital in Rajkot.
News of the death sparked outrage among Dalits in Thangadh who took to the streets demanding that a complaint be filed against police officials responsible for the death. With tension in the town, police officials called in reinforcements. However, on Sunday afternoon a group of Dalit youths clashed with the police at Dholeshwar area. The police again opened fire in which three people received bullet injuries. They were rushed to the Rajkot civil hospital where Mehul Rathod, 17, and Prakash Parmar, 21, died.
Rathod said, the first police firing in which the 16-year-old youth died "was done without any order by Raghvedran Vatsa, Senior Superintended of police, Surendranagar." After the firing Vatsa came to Thangadh, yet "did not take any action" against those who had fired.
"Hari Krishan Patel, Senior Suprintendent of Police, Jamnagar district, was in charge of Thangadh Police Station area and was presented in the second incident. His commandos fired on dalit mob with AK-47 and other policemen also participated in the firing. Hari Krishna Patel was on duty as Senior Superintendent of Police, because during that time Raghvendra Vatsa was busy in organizing bandobast for the Chief Minister's Swami Vivekanand Yatra", Rathod alleged, adding, "Three complaints have been lodged in the Thangadh police station, under IPC sections and under relevant sections of Prevention of Atrocities Act against the police but no action was taken against the accused police officers."
While the three cops were held in February this year, Rathod believes, the incident should be treated as a serious human rights violation. "The three victims were killed by the accused, and one was seriously injured in the police firing without any order or permission of the senior rank police officer. This is violation of Article 21 (right to life) of the Indian Constitution. It is also violation of Prevention of Atrocity Act, 1989, sections 3(1)5 and 3(1)7. The families of the victims live in constant fear of further attacks from the dominant caste police officers", he said.

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

RP Gupta a scapegoat to help Govt of India manage fallout of Adani case in US court?

RP Gupta, a retired 1987-batch IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, has found himself at the center of a growing controversy. During my tenure as the Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar (1997–2012), I often interacted with him. He struck me as a straightforward officer, though I never quite understood why he was never appointed to what are supposed to be top-tier departments like industries, energy and petrochemicals, finance, or revenue.

Environmental report raises alarm: Sabarmati one of four rivers with nonylphenol contamination

A new report by Toxics Link , an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund , a global non-profit headquartered in New York, has raised the alarm that Sabarmati is one of five rivers across India found to contain unacceptable levels of nonylphenol (NP), a chemical linked to "exposure to carcinogenic outcomes, including prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women."

PharmEasy: The only online medical store which revises prices upwards after confirming the order

For senior citizens — especially those without a family support system — ordering medicines online can be a great relief. Shruti and I have been doing this for the last couple of years, and with considerable success. We upload a prescription, receive a verification call from a doctor, and within two or three days, the medicines are delivered to our doorstep.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Search This Blog