Gujarat Dalit flogging: SUV belongs to NRI from Daman, says CID

(From left to right) Amrut Parmar, Jagdish Makwana, Manoj Makwana, Dinesh Rathod. (Express Photo)

The vehicle used in the attack on Dalits in Una was bought by Pramodgiri Goswami, one of the accused in the case, from an NRI who’s now in London. Goswami, however, is not the legal owner yet. He had paid only part sum of the Xylo which he took to the site where the Dalits were skinning a dead cow. The sticker on the SUV read: “President, Shiv Sena Gir-Somnath”. The district police have seized the SUV, registered at the Union Territory of Daman. The SUV’s ownership still remains with one Nrupal Bharatkumar Patel, a resident of Kathiria area in Nani Daman. The car had been bought and driven by Goswami, a resident of Simar village in Una, CID officials said.

Daman RTO Bipin Kumar said, “We have provided the necessary information with documents to CID about the car’s ownership which was used by the accused in Una incident. We have checked through our local sources and found that Pramodgiri Goswami had purchased the car from Nrupal two years ago and he had paid only part of the sum. Rs one lakh remains to be paid to the owner.”

The CID officials also took help of the local Daman police and found that Nrupal Patel, the car owner, had left India and resides in London. Gujarat region Shiv Sena president Umesh Engineer said, “We don’t have the post of president in Gir Somnath. Our Saurashtra zone president Jimmy Advani has confirmed that Goswami is not a Shiv Sainik. In our organisation, more than 80% members belong to the Dalit community.”