Cop publicly ‘flogs’ two men arrested for drunk driving

While the four men were arrested on Monday, two more arrests were made in the case till Tuesday. A court in Ahmedabad, while refusing the police the custody of the six, released them on bail on Tuesday on the ground that “no one was hurt seriously during the accident”.
The accused have been identified as car driver Kedar Dave (25), Preet Soni (25), Swaraj Yadav (23) and Rutvik Mandaliya (23) – all friends – as well as Jaysheel Hirenbhai Thakor and his father Hirenbhai Hiralal Thakor.

Inspector D P Unadkat from Maninagar police station said he was aware of the videos and justified the flogging of the two men — at the site where the scene was reconstructed for investigation on Tuesday — to “set an example to the public” after the recent accidents that the city has seen. “The police usually do not do this but sometimes it is required,” he added.

On July 20, a speeding Jaguar had killed nine persons on the Iskcon flyover, killing nine persons and injuring 13, after which the police have been on the vigil for reckless drivers.

The purported videos show two men being flogged. A police officer is seen hitting one man twice, as a person in plainclothes holds the alleged accused. The man is then made to sit inside a PCR van, as another man is taken out from the van. The plainclothed man is seen holding the second man by his shirt collar, pushed against the rear of the van, as the officer is seen flogging him with a lathi at least 10 times before he is let go.

The police said that between 12.05 am and 1.50 am on Monday, Dave, who was driving a Maruti Ciaz car allegedly in an inebriated condition, lost control of the car and hit a pavement at Maninagar, causing the car to turn turtle. His three friends, who were in the car, too, were allegedly drunk. Officers said two beer bottles were found in the car.

While the four were booked under the Gujarat Prohibition Act, Dave was also booked under provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act and Indian Penal Code section pertaining to rash driving.
Unadkat said, “The beer bottles were bought by Dave from Jaysheel Hirenbhai Thakor for Rs 1,000. Jaysheel’s father Hirenbhai Hiralal Thakor has a liquor licence but even with a licence, the bottles could not have been sold.”

Both father and son were booked under sections 66A (penalty for illegal use of or sells liquor), 116B (no analysis reequired for a known brand of alcohol) and 81 (penalty for abetment) of the Gujarat Prohibition Act.

In all, five FIRs were lodged against the four friends. One FIR was lodged by J division traffic police booking Dave (25) under sections 279 (rash driving) and 427 (mischief causing damage) of the IPC as well as under the Motor Vehicle Act.

The four other FIRs were lodged by Maninagar police, each individually booking Dave and his three friends under the Gujarat Prohibition Act. While Yadav, Soni and Mandaliya are facing charges under Prohibition Act sections 66 (1) (b) (punishment for consuming intoxicant) and 85 (1) (penalty for being drunk and disorderly behaviour), Dave has been charged under Prohibition Act sections 65AA (punishment for possession of lesser quantity of intoxicant) and 116-B (no analysis required for known brand of liquor).

Unadkat said, “The driver of the car saw a vehicle coming and tried a sharp turn, resulting in a crash with a tree… overturning the vehicle. If not for the tree, the car could have rammed into the benches next to the tree where two pedestrians were sitting.”

Inspector A D Gamit from J Traffic police station said, “The four men were drinking and driving… and were arrested immediately. We have been working with Maninagar police, which is carrying out further investigation.”