Day after SC agrees to hear plea, four Gujarat police constables booked for ‘thrashing’ minor at police station

They have neither been suspended from service nor placed under arrest so far.

DySP Raval further confirmed that the case in question is being investigated by the Inspector of Botad Town police station itself, who is the direct supervisor of the four accused police constables. Botad SP Chintan Teraiya remained unavailable for comment.

The 17-year-old teenager, who is still under treatment at a private hospital in Ahmedabad, had to undergo dialysis during his treatment.

The FIR was filed after activist Mujahid Nafees of the Minority Coordination Committee wrote to DGP Vikas Sahay, triggering an inquiry; Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani raised the matter; and the incident was mentioned in the Supreme Court by Advocate Rohin Bhatt.

The petition was mentioned before a Bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran on Friday, who agreed to hear it and scheduled a hearing on September 15.

Speaking to The Indian Express, DySP Raval said, “According to the FIR, on August 19, the minor was taken to a place called Military Road in Botad town. After accusing him of theft, the accused called Constable Jani on the phone. Jani then went to the spot and picked up the minor and took him to Botad Town police station. The FIR said that the minor was questioned and assaulted in the D-Staff room of the police station.”

Raval added, “He fell ill during this time and was taken to a hospital in Botad. There the doctors said he was facing the effects of some toxic substance and so, he was referred to a hospital in Ahmedabad.”

When asked if the alleged thrashing had led to the impact on the boy’s kidneys, necessitating the dialysis, DySP Raval said, “We have sought a detailed medical report, asking whether such a condition can occur from the type of assault described by the minor. We will receive that report tomorrow (Sunday). We have recorded the minor’s statement in front of the executive magistrate as well as his guardians — his grandparents — and, primarily, he said that he was bitten by some insect.”

When asked about the identity of the two persons who handed him over to constable Jani, DySP Raval said that the police are still confirming whether or not they are minors.

The accused constables have been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 120(1) (voluntarily causing hurt to compel a confession or restore property), 127(8) (wrongful confinement), and 54 (abettor present), as well as under Juvenile Justice Act section 75 (cruelty to a child).

From the homepage

US presses G7 countries to target India, China for ending Ukraine war

‘Guests will be sent to god’: Bomb threat sent to Delhi’s Taj Palace hotel; two hospitals get similar emails

Rape of Sikh woman in UK sparks outrage; ‘racially aggravated attack,’ say police