Gujarat man beaten, stripped and shaved for remarrying

HIMMATNAGAR, DECEMBER 10: The shawl slips off 32-year-old Raju Jivabhai Vanjhara's face, revealing a half-shaved moustache. He takes off h...

HIMMATNAGAR, DECEMBER 10: The shawl slips off 32-year-old Raju Jivabhai Vanjhara8217;s face, revealing a half-shaved moustache. He takes off his woollen cap, showing a tonsured head with a week8217;s growth.

The scars, physical and mental, are from an assault he suffered on the morning of December 1, when Raju was on his way from Mali Na Chhaparia, on the outskirts of Himmatnagar, to Mehtapura in his jeep.

Early next morning, he was found at Panpur crossroads near Mehtapura in a semi-conscious state without any clothes, head shaven and painted black and the left side of his moustache shaved.

What happened? Raju alleges that he was kidnapped at the instance of senior IPS officer D G Vanjhara, who is Raju8217;s first wife Shantaben8217;s brother-in-law sister8217;s husband. quot;My second marriage to Tresa was not acceptable to my first wife8217;s family, which is why her in-laws conspired to kidnap me with Vanjhara8217;s help,quot; he says.

Vanjhara, who is Deputy Commissioner Prohibition, Surat Range, says Raju8217;s allegations werebaseless. quot;As far as my brother and I are concerned, all allegations are totally baseless.quot; Asked whether Raju8217;s allegation of kidnapping was also baseless, the police officer says,quot;If somebody has done it let the local police take action.quot;

Narrating the sequence of events, Raju says that soon after he left for Mehtapura, he was intercepted by a car. Amit Vanjhara, nephew of the police officer got off from the car. quot;Amit told me that Vanjhara was at Ilol and wanted to see me. Meanwhile, a Tata Sumo and two Maruti Zens stopped nearby and about 20 men got off and started beating me up.quot;

Raju said he was then forced into a car which headed towards Ilol. It stopped in between and her got another round of beating. quot;I fainted because of the beating. Then, before taking me to Ilol, they forced me to swallow some pills and soon I lost consciousness.quot;

Story continues below this ad

When he regained consciousness, he found himself stripped naked and with the signs of maltreatment. quot;I was in the back seat of Tata Sumo, covered with a sheet. Iwas taken to a garden in Gandhinagar, where they rubbed some black paint on my head,quot; he alleged, adding that he was then driven to Unjha town, forced again to swallow some sedative and dumped near Mehtapura early on December 2.

In an application to the Chief Minister and other officials filed soon after the incident, Raju8217;s wife Tresa alleged that officials at Himmatnagar town police station refused to register a complaint when she and other family members went there at 11.00 pm on December 2. Police Inspector in-charge D K Vankar admitted that no FIR had been registered yet, but maintained that an investigation was under way.

Interestingly, Sabarkantha district Superintendent of Police N D Solanki said Raju8217;s father and brother issued a statement to the police saying they did not want the case pursued.