Even as the Brahmsamaj plans a protest fast in Jamjodhpur on October 30 demanding action against suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt for the alleged custodial death of 1990 riot accused Prabhudas Vaishnani,the compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh awarded by Gujarat High Court to his widow in 2009 remains unclaimed. The incident dates to 1990 when riots broke out at Jamjodhpur in Jamnagar district after BJP leader L K Advani's Ram Rathyatra was stopped in Bihar. Bhatt had reportedly gone to the spot on the instructions of the then district superintendent of police and arrested around 150 persons for the riots. One of them was Prabhudas Vaishnani. Prabhudas died in hospital after he was released on bail. His brother Amrut registered a complaint against Bhatt and six other policemen. He alleged that Prabhudas died of injuries inflicted by Bhatt in custody. The Brahmsamaj has decided to observe the 22nd anniversary of the episode and hold an exhibition of photographs on the alleged 'atrocities'. The state government had granted a compensation of Rs 50,000 to Prabhudas's widow Kanchan. She later moved a petition before the high court through senior counsel Girish Patel,demanding a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for her husband's 'custodial death'. A single-judge bench of the high court awarded a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh and on July 14,2009, the state government deposited Rs 1.5 lakh with the HC registry. However,the amount could not be handed over to Kanchan as she could not be contacted,Patel told the court. continued on page 2 Widow of Bhatts torture victim yet to claim compensation The court of Justice R R Tripathi recorded in the order,"Taking into consideration the fact that the learned advocate for the petitioner is not able to contact the petitioner,the petition is disposed of and liberty is reserved in favour of the petitioner to make an application for withdrawal of this amount on producing necessary documentary evidence about her identification." Prabhudas's brother Amrut - who will join the protest fast against Bhatt on October 30 - said: "In 2009,the HC had asked the government to increase compensation by Rs 1.5 lakh. So far,we have not claimed it. We were considering whether to make a fresh plea or accept the latest (2009) verdict. My brother's children are in their 20s now,all settled in their professional and personal lives." When contacted,Girish Patel said the compensation awarded by the high court is still lying unclaimed. "I had filed the petition on behalf of the deceased's wife after being approached by an acquaintance. However,after the petition was filed in 1994,nobody from the Vaishnanis bothered to ask me what happened to the petition. Nobody has approached me after the high court awarded the compensation,leave aside challenge the order," said Patel. "I tried to contact the petitioner through a local contact and through then the Registrar General of the high court,P P Bhatt. But I could not succeed," he said. (Inputs by Hiral Dave from Rajkot)
