Ahmedabad: Four policemen were on Thursday sentenced to 14-day imprisonment for publicly flogging three Muslim men after tying them to a pole at Undhela in Gujarat’s Kheda district last October.
A Gujarat High Court bench of Justices AS Supehia and Gita Gopi rejected inspector AV Parmar, sub-Inspector DB Kumavat, head constable KL Dabhi and constable Raju Dabhi’s plea against the imprisonment.
On October 11, the cops told the court that hitting people on their buttocks with a stick should not constitute custodial torture. They pleaded that a guilty verdict and subsequent punishment will adversely affect their professional records and offered unconditional apologies.
The cops’ counsel, senior advocate Prakash Jani, told the bench last week that his clients had met the Muslim men and their lawyer, but the victims didn’t accept any compromise formula or compensation following discussions with their community members.
Last year, police superintendent Rajesh Kumar Gadhiya had defended his fellow cops by telling the court that the Muslim men were allegedly part of a conspiracy to disrupt a Garba event to create fear among Hindu community. The policemen resorted to force to ensure peace, Gadhiya claimed.
The court then directed a magistrate to review video footage and photographs of the flogging, which went viral on Internet.
According to the magistrate’s report, videos and pictures were not very clear and the only ones who could be identified were the policemen accused of assaulting the three men.
The court framed charges against the cops on October 4 for violating Supreme Court guidelines on police conduct during arrests and detentions.
