Rajkot: Three police constables of Mundra police station in Kutch district were booked for murder on Wednesday following the death of a 24-year-old theft suspect in their custody.
The family members of the deceased Arjan Gadhvi alleged that Arjan was tortured by accused cops Shaktisinh Gohil, Ashok Kannad and Jaidevsinh Zala after illegally detaining him for more than a week over theft suspicion.
Arjan was picked up from Pragpar Patiya on the evening of January 12 by the accused cops. Next day when Arjan’s brother Hari learnt about it he visited Mundra police station. He was told that Arjan was brought for questioning and would be released soon.
But when Arjan did not return, Hari, his cousin Devraj Gadhvi and other family members went to the police station on January 16 and questioned the cops over their brother’s detention.
However, Gohil told them that Arjan will be released in the evening as soon as he tells them about the stolen booty.
Meanwhile, Arjan, who was present in the lock-up, told his brother and others that he was being tortured for no reason.
Complainant Devraj, who is also a lawyer, stated in his complaint that Arjan’s legs were swollen due to severe beating and he was unable to stand on his feet. He further alleged that cops did not offer food or water to Arjan.
Arjan was not released on January 16 either. On Tuesday evening, the family was informed by a lawyer that Arjan had died in police lock-up and his body was sent to Jamnagar for forensic postmortem. Sources said that Arjan was first taken to the government hospital in Mundra town where he was declared dead on arrival.
Deputy superintendent of police V N Yadav told TOI, “The three cops have been booked for murder and illegal confinement, but they are yet to be arrested. The investigation is on and we are waiting for the postmortem report to know the exact cause of death.”
When asked why was Arjan being held in the police station without any officials entry in the station diary of the cops, Yadav said that it was a matter of investigation.
On Tuesday evening, members of the Gadhvi community had gathered at the Mundra police station demanding the arrest of the accused cops.