Patel reservation stir: 9 Gujarat cops booked in Swetang death case
2 inspectors, PSI among those in the dock after HC orders CID probe.
Nine policemen including two inspectors and a sub-inspector have been booked for the alleged custodial death of Swetang Patel, 32, who had been detained during the height of the Patidar agitation for reservation under the OBC category in Gujarat. The move came after the Gujarat High Court ordered a CID probe on Friday.
Hardik Patel, who is leading the Patel community agitation, on Saturday said he is likely to attend Shwetang’s funeral on Sunday, and said the government will be held responsible “if anything happens”.
“We had registered an FIR in the Swetang Patel death case late last night against two police inspectors of Bapunagar, one D-staff PSI and six other policemen of D-staff for causing death,” Pandya told PTI.
The D-staff, or detection staff, is responsible for conducting investigations in cases filed with a police station. However, the advocate representing Swetang’s family in the case, BM Mangukia, claimed the FIR did not name all the cops responsible for the alleged custodial death.
“We had demanded that all those responsible be named, but they (police) did not register an FIR as per our demand and left out many highranking officials, including an ACP. We do not want to make lowerranked policemen a scapegoat in the case,” Mangukia told PTI.
He added, “We sat in the police station for about five hours to register an FIR.... This is non-compliance of the high court order and contempt of court as well.”
Swetang was allegedly taken away forcibly by the police on August 25. A plea was moved by Prabhaben Patel, his mother, which said he was allegedly beaten by the police and ultimately succumbed to the injuries inflicted. PTI
Nine policemen including two inspectors and a sub-inspector have been booked for the alleged custodial death of Swetang Patel, 32, who had been detained during the height of the Patidar agitation for reservation under the OBC category in Gujarat. The move came after the Gujarat High Court ordered a CID probe on Friday.
Hardik Patel, who is leading the Patel community agitation, on Saturday said he is likely to attend Shwetang’s funeral on Sunday, and said the government will be held responsible “if anything happens”.
ACP KD Pandya said police inspectors PD Parmar and RR Vasava of Bapunagar police station were among nine policemen booked in the Swetang Patel death case.
“We had registered an FIR in the Swetang Patel death case late last night against two police inspectors of Bapunagar, one D-staff PSI and six other policemen of D-staff for causing death,” Pandya told PTI.
The D-staff, or detection staff, is responsible for conducting investigations in cases filed with a police station. However, the advocate representing Swetang’s family in the case, BM Mangukia, claimed the FIR did not name all the cops responsible for the alleged custodial death.
“We had demanded that all those responsible be named, but they (police) did not register an FIR as per our demand and left out many highranking officials, including an ACP. We do not want to make lowerranked policemen a scapegoat in the case,” Mangukia told PTI.
He added, “We sat in the police station for about five hours to register an FIR.... This is non-compliance of the high court order and contempt of court as well.”
Swetang was allegedly taken away forcibly by the police on August 25. A plea was moved by Prabhaben Patel, his mother, which said he was allegedly beaten by the police and ultimately succumbed to the injuries inflicted. PTI
