Victim’s family seeks change in public prosecutor, cites ‘familiarity’ with accused

Six prosecution witnesses in the case have turned hostile so far, according to the family’s lawyer. The family has cited ‘familiarity’ of the local public prosecutor with the accused police personnel and expressed apprehension that the “trial will not proceed in the right way”.

The letter signed by Nisar’s son, Salim, said, “The state government had appointed Advocate Shailendra Ghariya by a resolution dated May 11, 2021, as a Special Public Prosecutor… Thereafter, with no reasons or without listening to the investigating authority (CID) or victim, the state government order on December 7, 2021 discontinued the service of Shailendra Ghariya as a Special Public Prosecutor in the said case with immediate effect without reasons. My family and I were satisfied with the appointment of Shailendra Ghariya… After that Advocate Ravi Shukla was appointed as Special PP and we were extremely disappointed because he was the person, who has previously worked as Additional Government Pleader in the district court of Vadodara and is well known to the (accused) police officers and (department) employees.”

Salim, in the letter, which is also copied to the Prime Minister, the President of India, the National Human Righs Commission, Ministry of Minority Affairs and Gujarat Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, highlights that a case of murder had been filed by the Vadodara police after directives from the Gujarat High Court, where Salim had filed a habeas corpus petition in June 2020.

The letter further seeks the re-appointment of Ghariya as the Special Public Prosecutor and states, “The said case became high profile and police officers are involved in the said custodial death and due to that the present Special PP may favour the accused directly or can influence the trial… For fair trial in the case, we reqest the government to reappoint Shailendra Ghariya as the Special PP.”

Family’s lawyer in Vadodara Shahid Gajiawala said that six prosecution witnesses had turned hostile so far — two of whom deposed on Tuesday.

Gajiawala said, “Since the commencement of the trial on December 2 last year, we have not yet been able to break ice with the Special Public Prosecutor Ravi Shukla. We have already seen six panch witnesses turn hostile. This is only the beginning and it has been so disappointing. We want a special prosecutor who is not familiar with the accused. Appointing a local advocate from Vadodara court as the PP in this case is like providing a shield to the accused, who are police personnel.”

The trial is currently on in the court of principal district and sessions judge MR Mengdey of Vadodara.

The CID, which had taken over the investigation from the Vadodara police in 2020, had said in a report to the HC on December 1, 2020, that a total of eight accused policemen — six of who are in judicial custody, under charges of murder and disappearance of evidence have been “uncooperative”.

On November 25, 2020, the state CID filed a 900-page primary chargesheet in the Vadodara court against the six arrested policemen — inspector DB Gohil, police sub-inspector D M Rabari and Lok Rakshak Dal jawans Pankaj Mavjibhai, Yogendra Jilansinh, Rajiv Savjibhai, and Hitesh Shambubhai.

The chargesheet also booked then sub-inspector Dilipsinh Rathod and assistant head constable Mahesh Rathwa who were then attached to the Fatehgunj police station. The next hearing in the case is slated for February 23.