Cops put blame where it suits

Did Congress councillor from Ward No 9, Harish Vaghela, lead the mob that torched the house of Iqbalbhai Khatri and his relatives in Navi Dh...

Did Congress councillor from Ward No 9, Harish Vaghela, lead the mob that torched the house of Iqbalbhai Khatri and his relatives in Navi Dharti mohalla of Nagarwada on the night of February 28?

Yes, if the First Information Report FIR lodged with Karelibaug police station is to be believed. But those whose houses were torched 8212; Khatri and his relatives 8212; maintain that Vaghela and his supporters saved the lives of several Muslims and protected their residential and business properties in the mohalla.

In that case how does Vaghela8217;s name find mention in the FIR? Khatri, who says he made every effort to get Vaghela8217;s name deleted, alleges the police were booking BJP8217;s rivals in fraudulent cases.

Khatri, who has been staying in one of the three camps in the city ever since the mob torched his house, says he approached the police on February 29 to lodge a case against the culprits who set his house on fire. Khatri alleges that the cop on duty told him he would lodge the FIR only if he agreed to include Vaghela8217;s name among the accused.

Khatri claims the cop noted Vaghela8217;s name on the left margin of the page and said it would not be included among the accused after Khatri8217;s protest. However, Khatri says that when he was handed a copy of the FIR, he was surprised to find Vaghela named on it and shown as having led the mob that attacked the Muslim houses.

Khatri8217;s aunt Karimaben, who was present at the police station with Khatri, says she repeatedly told the cop Vaghela was innocent and that his name 8216;8216;should not be included in the FIR but the cop refused to listen to anything8217;8217;. Karimaben points out that all the Muslim shops and houses in Rohitwas mohalla, where Vaghela lives, are safe even now.

The FIR was signed by Sub-Inspector B.S. Joshi, who is currently on leave. However, his colleague P.S. Makwana defended Joshi, saying allegations of political bias are common. 8216;8216;I don8217;t know how the corporator8217;s name was included in the FIR since my colleague registered it. However, if the corporator is found innocent, his name will be dropped during inquiry,8217;8217; he states. Makwana also says the corporator has no reason to worry if he is innocent.

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Deputy Commissioner of Police North Kesarisinh Bhati, when asked about how Vaghela8217;s name appeared in the FIR despite the complainant giving a clean chit to him, says: 8216;8216;I will look into the matter.8217;8217; Vaghela, however, could not be contacted at home despite several attempts.

Vadodara City Congress Committee president Bhikhubhai Rabari says he met the officials of Karelibaug police station and pleaded with them to remove Vaghela8217;s name from the FIR. But nothing has been done so far, he states.

Khatri alleges that not only had the police wrongly included Vaghela8217;s name in the FIR, they had also not arrested the people he had named 8212; Mahesh Kathiawadi, Dilip Dhanji Makwana, and Vikram Dhanji Makwana.

Khatri on Friday also signed a court affidavit which reads: 8216;8216;Vaghela is my friend and he did not take part in torching of my house.8217;8217;