The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Gujarat, has issued a formal legal notice to the state’s top administrative and police brass demanding immediate criminal, departmental, and disciplinary action against officers of the Nilambaug Police Station in Bhavnagar for allegedly subjecting a murder accused to brutal custodial torture and public humiliation.
The notice, served by Advocate Anand Yagnik on behalf of PUCL Gujarat General Secretary Mujahid Nafees, names Police Inspector D.P. Undadkat and other unidentified officers as perpetrators of what it describes as “barbaric and unconstitutional violence” carried out in full public view at the ST bus stand in Bhavnagar on Friday.
According to the notice, the accused, identified as Faizal alias Khatki Rafikbhai Lakhani, was arrested in connection with the murder of Kajal Ben, with whom he had reportedly been in a live-in relationship for the past eight years. On September 5, officers took him to the ST bus stand under the pretext of a crime scene reconstruction.
Instead of conducting a lawful investigation, the notice alleges, PI Undadkat and his team tied the accused with ropes and struck him more than 100 times with sticks—over 40 blows in the first four minutes alone. The document claims the accused was bent over a pillar, laid across a bench, and beaten until his clothes tore and he collapsed. Officers allegedly placed a stick between his legs, forced him to crawl on his knees while tied up, and dragged him through the area as spectators watched.
The notice asserts that video footage and photographs of the incident exist and have been annexed as evidence.
The communication, addressed to the Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Director General of Police, and Superintendent of Police (Bhavnagar), frames the incident as a flagrant violation of constitutional protections and Supreme Court jurisprudence.
It specifically cites the landmark judgment in D.K. Basu vs. State of West Bengal (1997), which is binding law under Article 141 of the Constitution, and accuses the officers of violating Article 21 protections regarding the dignity and humane treatment of persons in custody. The notice further references international conventions against torture to which India is a signatory.
PUCL also highlights a May 7, 2019 order of the Gujarat High Court in Public Interest Litigation WP(PIL) No. 153 of 2018, which called for the sensitization of police personnel to prevent human rights abuses. Additionally, it points to a circular issued by the Gujarat DGP on May 12, 2026, directing strict disciplinary action against officers involved in reported human rights violations—an order the notice claims was “soundly ignored” in this instance.
The notice draws a sharp distinction between active perpetrators and passive enablers, alleging that while the Bhavnagar officers played an active role in the violence, senior officials addressed in the notice acted as “mute spectators” and facilitators through their inaction.
It demands that the recipients initiate “any and all appropriate and suitable action—departmental, disciplinary, punitive, and criminal—against the erring police officials forthwith.” The notice warns that failure to act will compel the PUCL to pursue “any and all suitable legal action” against both the individual officers and the senior authorities for allowing what it terms a “flagrant violation” of the rights of an accused person belonging to a minority community.
Copies of news reports, video recordings, and court judgments have been annexed to the notice as supporting documents.
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