Chain-snatching accused ‘tortured’ in custody, Surat court registers case against 4 policemen

The preliminary inquiry report by Fifth Additional Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Shraddha N Falki, submitted on Wednesday, stated that police constables Vanar, Jaypal Sinh, Narayan Sinh and police van driver Shaitansinh had committed an offence under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 115 (2) (Causing hurt), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation), and 54 (Abettor is present when the crime had taken place).

According to the court order, “Sachin cops beat three accused up on their hands, legs and on the back portion of their body. The cops had injected petrol mixed with chili powder…The cops also had threatened these accused of grilling them under a GUJCTOC (Gujarat Control Of Terrorism and Organised Crime Act, 2015) case.”

As per details of the case, Sachin police caught three men, Saurabh Sharma (19), Rakesh Vagh (22), and Subodh Ramani (23), all residents of Sachin Slum Board, on January 29, for their alleged involvement in robbing Gnaneshwar Sapkal, a resident of Varachha, of a gold pendant and neck chain worth Rs 89,820 on the night of January 28.

As per the complaint filed by Sapkal at Sachin police station, “He (Sapkal) and his nephew were on their way to their relative’s house at Sachin Railway station road near LD School. On the way, near Sahyog complex, three youths turned up on a bike and robbed his gold pendant and chain and attacked his nephew with a knife and escaped.” In his complaint, Sapkal had identified two of the accused — Vagh and Ramani.

The Sachin police station had registered an offence under BNS sections 309 (4) (robbery), 309(6) (Voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) and 54 ( abettor present during the commission of the offence) against Vagh, Ramani and another youth, Sharma. Police arrested the three accused on January 29 and, the next day, produced them before the court which remanded them to two days in police custody.

After their remand ended February 1, they were produced before the court for further remand, which was rejected.
Sources said that judge Falki asked the three accused whether they suffered any police torture during the police remand. All the three accused told the court that during their police remand period, four policemen of surveillance staff of Sachin police station beat them up and tortured them in their private parts.
Judicial Magistrate Falki then called each one of them individually in her chamber and took a complaint from them against the cops. The judge then, on a suo motu basis, carried out a criminal inquiry into the statements of the accused and ordered the police to conduct medical examination of all three accused at New Civil hospital, Surat. The trio was sent to judicial custody at Surat Central jail on February 1.

On February 3, they were taken to New Civil Hospital where they were medically examined by different departments. Three criminal inquiries proceeded on the basis of their statements, which were consolidated into one criminal inquiry.

Based on the statements of the three accused and the Chief Medical officer of New Civil Hospital, Dr Nisha Chandani, besides the medical treatment papers of the three accused, the court registered the offence against the police personnel.

Senior Advocate Ilyas Patel, who is monitoring the case, said, “I have gone through the copy of the court order. The court had personally listened to all three accused one by one and noted the ill-treatment they had suffered during the police remand period at Sachin police station. The Court had suo motu taken action and registered an offence against the accused cops. Now, the court will issue summons to these cops to remain present in the court, and they will have to present their side.”

Sachin police inspector P N Vaghela said, “The court had taken a decision based on the statements of Saurabh, Rakesh and Subodh, and the statements of the doctor. The court had not asked us for our version in this case. Without listening to us, the order has been passed. We will also take legal help; our policemen will remain in the court and make their submissions. We will go by evidence through a lawyer in the court.”

Sources with the Sachin police said that Rakesh has 14 cases of physical assault and theft against him between 2023 and 2025 and was sent to jail under the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA) three times in 2023-24. He was detained 10 times by police during the same period.

Subodh was arrested a number of times between 2019 and 2025 in cases of physical assault and theft and PASA was invoked against him in 2024, sources added. He was detained by police twice in 2019 and 2023. Saurabh, alias Pandit, was arrested in two robbery cases this year, including the present case, they said.