Gujarat High Court issues notice to police over Kheda public flogging

Ahmedabad: Flogging of Muslims allegedly by police personnel in Gujarat's Undhela village of Kheda district has taken a new turn after a division bench of the Gujarat High Court issued notice on Thursday to state authorities including police personnel.

The flogging allegedly had taken place on October 4 following a stone-pelting during Navratri. and now the court issued notice to 15 respondents.

The bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice A J Shastri heard the submission by Senior Advocate I H Syed, representing the petitioners.

Advocate I H Syed told the court that police brought the victims in a police van from the station and each of them was taken out before flogging them in full public view.

The senior advocate argued that it is complete violation (of Supreme Court's guidelines for police during detentions and arrest), according to a report in The Indian Express.

The petitioners — Jahirmiya Malek (62), Maksudabanu Malek (45), Sahadmiya Malek (23), Sakilmiya Malek (24) and Shahidraja Malek (25) —moved the High Court against 15 police personnel.

Petitioners seek action against the offices of IG (Ahmedabad range) and Kheda SP, 10 Constables of Matar police station and the local crime branch (LCB) at Kheda, an Inspector of the LCB, and two Sub Inspectors.

As well as seeking adequate compensation, the petitioners have sought that the police personnel be "punished for contempt and non-compliance" of the Supreme Court's directions in the case of D K Basu versus the State of West Bengal.

Alongside, they wanted the court to direct SP Kheda to seize forthwith the original DVRs, , cameras of the SOG office, toll plaza and all such CCTV cameras on the route.

At around 11pm on October 3, according to the petitioners, an altercation at the garba festival in Undhela village in Matar taluka of Kheda district broke out upon the arrival of the Matar MLA, Kesarisinh Solanki, and his entourage.

Afterwards, 11 police personnel named in the list of respondents in the petition arrived at the scene before detaining "innocent persons including the petitioners", according to the submission.

Petitioners reportedly claimed that police entered at about 2 am the house of the one of the petitioners who is a woman named Maksudabanu without woman constable and one police man beat her up injuring her.

After detaining them for the night at SOG police station in Kheda, the petitioners said they were taken to the Masjid chowk in Undhela around noon on October 4.

Afterwards, they were allegedly tied to a pole and beaten with lathi by 13 police personnel while the videos of the incident was recorded, before circulating them on social media.

Police personnel allegedly involved in the flogging denied the request of the victims to be taken to hospital.

The petition also said that while the petitioners were being produced before the magistrate court the lawmaker for Matar constituency arrived at the court with 200 others and raised slogans.