The Vadodara District police recently booked Karjan BJP MLA Akshay Patel’s son Rishi Patel under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, after two dumper drivers working for him accused him and his four associates of “brutally beating” them and hurling casteist abuses.
According to the FIR lodged on Thursday, Rishi Patel allegedly assaulted the drivers, identified as Natvar Vasava and Girishbhai Vasava, at his office in Bakapur in Karjan taluka, approximately 45 kilometers from Vadodara city, on the evening of May 15.
Vadodara Superintendent of Police Sushilkumar Agrawal told The Indian Express, “We had received the first application on May 19 (from Girish Vasava). Since there were some contradictory details in the statements of the two drivers, a preliminary inquiry was conducted, and the FIR was lodged subsequently… We are also conducting a panchnama of the crime scene…”
The FIR states that Rishi Patel allegedly showed the two drivers photographs of their respective dumper vehicles and accused them of stealing diesel while working on transporting sand from a lease site. When the complainant, Natvar Vasava, denied the allegation, Rishi Patel allegedly assaulted him with an iron pipe before beating him with a plastic pipe.
The FIR further states that Rishi Patel’s associates – Jaydat Bapu, Sahil Patel, Javed Pathan, and Vijay, all of whom are named as co-accused in the case – joined in the assault, repeatedly beating the victim with plastic pipes, tying him upside down with a rope, and allegedly subjecting him to caste-based abuse. The complainant said the group continued to “kick and assault him until he became semi-conscious and was left unable to move properly”.
The complainant stated that the accused abused him and the other driver for wanting “too much salary increase and forming a union”. He claimed he was later shifted through 108 ambulance services to government hospitals in Umalla and Rajpipla for treatment.
Besides the Atrocity Act, the police have booked Rishi Patel and his four associates under Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to voluntarily causing hurt and grievous hurt using dangerous weapons, wrongful confinement, use of obscene and abusive language, unlawful assembly, and rioting, among others. The accused are yet to be arrested as they are “not present” at their addresses.
Story continues below this ad
When contacted by this newspaper, BJP MLA Akshay Patel refused to comment on the matter.
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.
Expertise:
Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including:
Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground.
Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure.
Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case).
Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions.
Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More
