Vadodara violence spot query: Plainclothes 'cops' gatecrash houses, pick up boys, assault women, smash goodies

By A Representative
A team of social activists, who visited some of the strife-torn areas of Vadodara, Gujarat’s third big city, on September 27-28, 2014, have taken strong exception to the “role of the police, particularly plainclothes cops, also known as D staff”, during the communal violence which has been continuing in sensitive areas for the last several days. Claiming that they decided to make an on-the-spot inquiry “on the request of the affected people”, the social activists, in a faxed message to E Radhakrishnan, city police commissioner, said, “The police should have prevented violence and arrested those who undertake violence”, but this has not happened.
In the process of coming up with a detailed report on their spot inquiry, the social activists said, many people, particularly women, in the affected areas “complaint about the verbal abuse and physical assault on them by the police. The marks of injury were visible on their body.” All this happened despite the fact that the police commissioner had “promised to look in to the matter and assured them that this would not be repeated.”
Signatories include Trupti Shah and Reshma Vora of Sahiyar Women’s Organisation, Rohit Prajati, Ashok Gupta and S Shrinivasan of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), and two social workers Shaukat Indori and Sabiha Hakim. A copy of the faxed message was sent to Gujarat’s home secretary SK Nanda and National Human Rights Commission chairman G Balakrishnan.
The social activists said, “We were shocked to know that brutal police attacks are continued on the night of September 27, 2014. As per the complaint by Ashiyana Abdul Latif Shaikh (aged about 45 years), on the night of 27, at around 2.00 am, the police rounded up the moholla of the area of Wadi Taiwada and entered the houses of people.” Things did not stop here, they said.
“About 8-10 plainclothes policemen, who had their faces covered and had iron rods in their hand, broke the door and a window and entered the house. They broke the fridge, smashed the lights and picked up her son Abdul Raheman, 19. When womenfolk protested, they assaulted Ashiyana on head and hands, her younger daughter Mubina on back and legs and brutally assaulted daughter Amrin Abdul Latif Shaikh, 22”, the message said.
The cops, the social activists contended, tore “Amrin’s clothes and beat her up with iron road on head, shoulder and back. She became unconscious and was admitted in the Sayaji General Hospital in the morning of September 28, 2014.” While in hospital “she spoke about the assault by police as reason for her injuries and also registered her complaint in the Police Station of the General Hospital”, the message said, yet, shockingly, “the doctor mentions assault by opposing party in her case paper and she is not sure what police has mentioned in the FIR.”
Pointing out that the police is refusing to part with a copy of the FIR, the message said, “She was discharged at about 2.00 p.m. on the same day, and while we are writing this her mental and physical condition has turned from bad to worse.“Other women were also assaulted similarly, but have not yet gone to hospital due to the fear of more violence.”
The message complained that despite efforts to contact him on his cell phone, he could not be approached, and only on September 29, 2014 could he be approached. As no appointment was given the message was being faxed and emailed. Characterising the situation in Vadodara as having been “vitiated by communal forces and the blatant violation of human rights by police will not save the situation”, the message said, “We expect immediate steps from you.”

Comments

Gram sabha as reformer: Mandla’s quiet challenge to the liquor economy

By Raj Kumar Sinha* This year, the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organising a two-day PESA Mahotsav in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 23–24 December 2025. The event marks the passage of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), enacted by Parliament on 24 December 1996 to establish self-governance in Fifth Schedule areas. Scheduled Areas are those notified by the President of India under Article 244(1) read with the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides for a distinct framework of governance recognising the autonomy of tribal regions. At present, Fifth Schedule areas exist in ten states: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana. The PESA Act, 1996 empowers Gram Sabhas—the village assemblies—as the foundation of self-rule in these areas. Among the many powers devolved to them is the authority to take decisions on local matters, including the regulation...

MG-NREGA: A global model still waiting to be fully implemented

By Bharat Dogra When the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) was introduced in India nearly two decades ago, it drew worldwide attention. The reason was evident. At a time when states across much of the world were retreating from responsibility for livelihoods and welfare, the world’s second most populous country—with nearly two-thirds of its people living in rural or semi-rural areas—committed itself to guaranteeing 100 days of employment a year to its rural population.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Concerns raised over move to rename MGNREGA, critics call it politically motivated

By A Representative Concerns have been raised over the Union government’s reported move to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), with critics describing it as a politically motivated step rather than an administrative reform. They argue that the proposed change undermines the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and seeks to appropriate credit for a programme whose relevance has been repeatedly demonstrated, particularly during times of crisis.

Rollback of right to work? VB–GRAM G Bill 'dilutes' statutory employment guarantee

By A Representative The Right to Food Campaign has strongly condemned the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–GRAM G) Bill, 2025, describing it as a major rollback of workers’ rights and a fundamental dilution of the statutory Right to Work guaranteed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). In a statement, the Campaign termed the repeal of MGNREGA a “dark day for workers’ rights” and accused the government of converting a legally enforceable, demand-based employment guarantee into a centralised, discretionary welfare scheme.

Making rigid distinctions between Indian and foreign 'historically untenable'

By A Representative Oral historian, filmmaker and cultural conservationist Sohail Hashmi has said that everyday practices related to attire, food and architecture in India reflect long histories of interaction and adaptation rather than rigid or exclusionary ideas of identity. He was speaking at a webinar organised by the Indian History Forum (IHF).

India’s Halal economy 'faces an uncertain future' under the new food Bill

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The proposed Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2025 marks a decisive shift in India’s food regulation landscape by seeking to place Halal certification exclusively under government control while criminalising all private Halal certification bodies. Although the Bill claims to promote “transparency” and “standardisation,” its structure and implications raise serious concerns about religious freedom, economic marginalisation, and the systematic dismantling of a long-established, Muslim-led Halal ecosystem in India.

From jobless to ‘job-loss’ growth: Experts critique gig economy and fintech risks

By A Representative Leading economists and social activists gathered in the capital on Friday to launch the third edition of the State of Finance in India Report 2024-25 , issuing a stark warning that the rapid digitalization of the Indian economy is eroding welfare systems and entrenching "digital dystopia."

Search This Blog