Why no action against Gujarat cops publicly flogging minority youth? Asks petition

An email petition, floated by Mujahid Nafees, convener, Minority Coordination Committee (MCC), Gujarat, addressed to Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel, has wondered why till now no action has been taken against the police personnel responsible for publicly flogging three youth belonging to the minority community.
Referring to the incident, which took place in village Undhela, Matar taluka, Kheda district, the petition, endorsed by several human rights activists, says, there is lack of action despite the fact that video clips/ images and newspaper reports of an incident that occurred on 3rd / 4th October, 2022 of public flogging by police personnel of those held for allegedly pelting stone/s at garba venue.”
The petition states, according to reports, an argument over the location of a garba event in the village spiralled into violence with Muslim residents objecting to holding the programme near the village mosque. “An FIR was registered against the alleged Muslim miscreants for the alleged violence”, it says.
A day later, according to the petition, the videos which emerged a day later, and going rounds, shows the police personnel brought the arrested persons din a police van near the event venue, where the altercation over garba was held. They were taken near an electric pole where one police personnel pulls them by their hands and another beat them mercilessly: all of this while the crowd around cheered the police brutality.

Bhupendra Patel, Mujahid Nafees

Regretting that no action has been taken/initiated till date, only an inquiry committee of Ahmedabad IG has been ordered after a legal notice sent to top Gujarat government authorities, the petition says, “This is in complete violation of all rights of those flogged by those responsible for the maintaining law and order.”
Stating that what happened in Undhela village is “open and brazen violation” not only against the protected rights under Article 21 but against the whole “constitutional spirit of a civilized society”, the petition says, it violates international law and conventions to which India is a signatory, especially for eschewing all forms of torture, the Supreme Court judgement in the DK Basu case and Article 141 of the Constitution.
Pointing out that “there is no section in any police manual or Indian penal code that allows police to indiscriminately assault citizens”, the petition demands, that the police department should file FIR against the police personnel involved in flogging, the accused police personnel should be suspended and arrested, and the victims paid compensation.

---

Click here for signatories

Comments

Despite Hindutva hold claim, 18% Hindus in US don't want to be identified with Hinduism!

Scanning through news items on the Google News app on my mobile — which is what I do almost every morning — I came across a story published on India.com, which I found somewhat misleading. The headline said, "Muslim population drops significantly in THIS country as over 25% Muslims leave Islam due to…, the country is…"

Adani Group a key player in Indo-Israel defence cooperation: Tel Aviv daily

Said to be one of the most influential Israeli dailies, "Haaretz" (literally: News of the Land) has identified the Adani Group—known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—as one of the key Indian business houses engaged in defence cooperation with Israel. Pointing out that India supplied the Israeli military with Hermes 900 drones, the daily reported that this advanced aerial vehicle came off “the production line in a factory set up in Hyderabad, as part of the cooperation between the Israeli Elbit and India's Adani Group.”

Beyond Indus water treaty suspension: A 'nationalist' push despite harsh climate realities

The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) appears to have pushed the middle classes, at least in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat, further towards what the powers-that-be would consider—a "positive" direction. As usual, during my morning walk, I tried talking with a neighbour about what impact it would have. Ignoring what is widely considered a "security lapse," this person, who had just returned after buying milk, compared the Modi move with Trump.

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.

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.

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Search This Blog