Probe into killing of 3 Dalit youth in 2012 hasn't progressed as cops were sent with Modi to Mumbai, Meerut

By A Representative
Why could the officials investigating into the death of three Dalit youths on September 22, 2012 in police firing at Thangadh in Surendranagar district in Gujarat fail to go ahead with their job though three and half years have passed following the gruesome incident? If a recent report submitted to Gujarat’s home department by inspector general of police, CID (crime) Anil Pratham is any indication, one of the major reasons behind it has been “lack of staff”, which got busy in Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s variegated security concerns!
The cops, who were part of the investigating team probing the Thangadh firing, had to go to “Mumbai, Meerut and Himmatnagar” to take care of Modi's security early this month, the report shockingly reveals, adding, “There was not even a writer available to jot down all the details in the investigation already done, so that it could be submitted on January 28, 2014, as required…” This happened “despite the fact that there was a need to find out why crisis management could not be carried.”

The report was obtained by Navsarjan Trust on the basis on a right to information (RTI) plea. It said, “testimonies of the steps taken or needed to be taken remain to be obtained”, adding, “Only copies of different orders could be obtained, and details of the vehicles damaged during the incident, which led to firing, alone could be obtained.” All this happened also because one of the officials investigating in the incident, Dr Girish Pandya, deputy superintendent of police, Viramgam division, was transferred to Idar to head reserve police unit at Monderi.”
At the same time, the report appears to give a partial clean chit to police firing by saying referring not once but several times over on how the crowd (consisting of Dalits), numbering around 2,000, resorted to stone throwing, use of abusive language, and burning of private and official vehicles, causing a damage to the tune of Rs 20,000. “This is clear from various testimonies”, Pratham points out, adding, “The Railway Police and cops of the reserved police force have testified this in their statements.”
Despite all this, Pratham admits, “A thorough job in investigating the incident on the basis of the available evidence is yet to be done.” He adds, “While there appears to be clarity on different issues at the first sight, there are still lots of gaps which need to be filled up before reaching a final conclusion. This is the reason why the investigation into the incident is still continuing. The investigations should be done on the basis of different government orders from time to time on when police firing should be resorted to.”
On September 22, 2012, three Dalit youths were killed after police fired at Thangadh town in Surendranagar district, following what officials termed as “clashes” of the Dalits with the Bharwad community members. The trouble between Dalits and the Bharwads started at the Tarnetar fair, which is an annual festival. Officials claimed, the police was forced to open fire after lathicharge and teargas shells failed.
Instead of taking action against the cops who opened fire, Dalit activists allege, an FIR was lodged against eight Dalits, who were jailed. Only after the CID (crime) took charge of the case that cases against the Dalits were dropped and charges of attempt to murder slapped on them were dropped. Later, the CID (crime) arrested a police sub-inspector and two other policemen on murder charges in connection with the police firing at Thangadh.
These were sub-inspector Kuldipsinh P Jadeja, constable Yogesh Gadhvi and assistant sub-inspector Nathubha Andubha. The CID probe also revealed that the accused policemen had used AK-47 to fire on Dalits. The police affidavit, submitted by Superintendent of Police R S Bhagora, had said that the weapons used included "revolver, (.303) rifle, carbine gun and AK-47". The affidavit, dated November 6, 2013, opposed the anticipatory bail petition of Jadeja and noted that the motive behind the police firing was "hatred" and "prejudice" against Dalits.

Comments

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan In a groundbreaking study spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

From colonial mercantilism to Hindutva: New book on the making of power in Gujarat

By Rajiv Shah Professor Ghanshyam Shah ’s latest book, “ Caste-Class Hegemony and State Power: A Study of Gujarat Politics ”, published by Routledge , is penned by one of Gujarat ’s most respected chroniclers, drawing on decades of fieldwork in the state. It seeks to dissect how caste and class factors overlap to perpetuate the hegemony of upper strata in an ostensibly democratic polity. The book probes the dominance of two main political parties in Gujarat—the Indian National Congress and the BJP—arguing that both have sustained capitalist growth while reinforcing Brahmanic hierarchies.

From protest to proof: Why civil society must rethink environmental resistance

By Shankar Sharma* As concerned environmentalists and informed citizens, many of us share deep unease about the way environmental governance in our country is being managed—or mismanaged. Our complaints range across sectors and regions, and most of them are legitimate. Yet a hard question confronts us: are complaints, by themselves, effective? Experience suggests they are not.

Kolkata event marks 100 years since first Communist conference in India

By Harsh Thakor* A public assembly was held in Kolkata on December 24, 2025, to mark the centenary of the First Communist Conference in India , originally convened in Kanpur from December 26 to 28, 1925. The programme was organised by CPI (ML) New Democracy at Subodh Mallik Square on Lenin Sarani. According to the organisers, around 2,000 people attended the assembly.

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.

Dalit woman student’s death sparks allegations of institutional neglect in Himachal college

By A Representative A Dalit rights organisation has alleged severe caste- and gender-based institutional violence leading to the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman student at Government Degree College, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, and has demanded arrests, resignations, and an independent inquiry into the case.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

The architect of Congolese liberation: The life and legacy of Patrice Lumumba

By Harsh Thakor* Patrice Émery Lumumba remains a central figure in the history of African decolonization, serving as the first Prime Minister of the independent Republic of the Congo. Born on July 2, 1925, Lumumba emerged as a radical anti-colonial leader who sought to unify a nation fractured by decades of Belgian rule. His tenure, however, lasted less than seven months before his dismissal and subsequent assassination on January 17, 1961.

Venezuela and the crisis of global order: Erosion of rules-based international order

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The American attack on Venezuela violates every principle of international law that the collective West claims to uphold. The response from the European Union—“we are monitoring the situation”—exposes the hollowness of these claims. WhatsApp gossipers may celebrate this as an act of “bravery,” but what kind of bravery is it to intimidate a neighbour that is neither large in size nor strong in military power?

Search This Blog