Holding that they "appear to be victims on account of their birth in a particular community," the Gujarat High Court has ordered a probe into custodial torture of two siblings and their wives, for making them confess to a crime and then booking them in four other undetected cases based on their purported confession.
While asking the state government to respond as to why "exemplary compensation" shouldn't be paid to the victims, justice Nikhil S Kariel ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ahmedabad range, to conduct an inquiry into the case.
"This court is of the prima facie opinion that this is a clear case of extreme excess by the concerned police authorities and whereas even senior officers of the level of Dy SP (deputy superintendent of police) and SP (superintendent of police), who were supposed to hold an impartial inquiry, have just conducted a sham inquiry maybe in order to protect their subordinates," justice Kariel stated in his order passed on March 16.
According to details, on February 4, 2015, a police sub-inspector Rajendra Karmatiya arrested Mansukh Kumarkhaniya, his wife Mina, his brother Rasik and his wife Rina. They are residents of Tagdi village in Ahmedabad district and belong to Devipujak, listed as a nomadic and marginalised community. Karmatiya, then posted with Dhandhuka police station, had arrested them in a case related to an attempted robbery.
Days later, the brothers and their wives were arrested in four other undetected offences registered in different police stations between 2013 and 2015 based on their "confessional" statements.
The court order states that one of these cases was related to murder and robbery lodged at Barwala police station in the neighbouring district of Botad. The investigating officer of this case filed a closure report in the trial court stating that the victims had confessed to having committed the alleged crimes "on account of excessive torture by the police officials."
Eventually, the trial courts acquitted the victims in all the cases as there was no evidence against the brothers and their wives except their confessional statements. The victims had also produced medical certificates which proved their torture in police custody. The family then moved the high court seeking investigation against the policemen and compensation.
According to petitioners' lawyer Hardik Jani, one of the victims was pregnant at the time of arrest while the other one had two daughters who were toddlers. "These two women faced a lot of hardship as they were dragged from one police station to another for months before being sent to jail in false cases. The policemen targeted them for being poor and uneducated. We have sought an investigation against the erring cops and exemplary compensation from the state," Jani told DH.
"The petitioners appear to be victims on account of their birth in a particular community. Though independent witnesses appear to support the fact that the petitioner Nos 1 (Mansukh) and 2 (Rasik) being two brothers and the petitioner Nos 3 (Mina) and 4 (Rina) being their wives are earning their living by way of an honest occupation, yet those aspects have not been at all considered by the concerned officers," justice Kariel has noted in the order.
He further observed while asking the state government to file a reply on compensation, "As this court finds that prima facie the petitioners appear to have been falsely implicated in approximately 05 FIRs and whereas the petitioners have undergone pain, agony and suffering on account of a wrong investigation, the term wrong is used since this court has ordered an inquiry but the fact of the petitioners having been arrested, the fact of the petitioners having beaten up by police, the fact of the petitioners having been acquitted by the concerned Trial Courts cannot be ignored or overlooked."
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