AHMEDABAD: A constable with Sola police, blind drunk while in uniform, exposed the reality of ‘Dry Gujarat’, as a video of him being beaten with sticks by members of the public on Tuesday night in Chandlodia went viral on social media.
The cop, later identified as Sunilsinh Chauhan, 33, a resident of Danilimda Police Lines who was posted at Sola police station in July 2019, was roaming about in Chandlodia when the incident took place.
According to locals, at about 12.45am, Chauhan went to a paan shop to buy tobacco products where he threatened some persons to stay away from him and then began verbally abusing them. They got angry at the drunk cops’s abusive behaviour and began abusing him back.
Chauhan then slapped one of the men, due to which others attacked him. As more people gathered, Chauhan tried to run away. Members of the public chased him down and thrashed him with sticks.
In the viral video, Chauhan is seen lying on the road and people are punching and kicking him and hitting him with sticks.
Some local residents then called the cops and a team of Sola police rushed there and rescued Chauhan. Sola police personnel tried to save their colleague from prohibition charges, but a doctor at Sola Civil Hospital where he was taken for treatment, called the police control room and complained about the drunk cop.
Sola police later filed two FIRs, one against six persons including a minor for assaulting Chauhan, based on a complaint by Chauhan and another FIR was filed by a sub-inspector against Chauhan for prohibition offences.
Police also invoked rioting charges against those who allegedly attacked Chauhan.