The three accused were allegedly paraded from Nyaymandir to Lal Court building. (Express Photo) The three accused were allegedly paraded from Nyaymandir to Lal Court building. (Express Photo)

A day after a woman sub-inspector was assaulted by a mob comprising street vendors while she was trying to shut roadside eateries in Raopura area of Vadodara, police on Thursday arrested three of the 19 accused and paraded them handcuffed.

Police arrested the three accused — Mohammad Rafiq Doodhwala, Shabbir Sadiq Golawala and Mohammed Hanif Ghulamnabi Dumbawala — from the old city area and paraded them from Nyaymandir to Lal Court building, escorted by a team of male and female police constables.

An officer of the Raopura police station, however, said that the accused were not paraded but were “made to walk” to the police jeep that was parked near Lal Court.

“The accused were nabbed on the side of the Lehripura gate and they were made to walk to the police jeep. A team of officers had surrounded them to ensure that locals do not attack the police or try to intervene. They have attacked a police officer and it is necessary to instill fear of law among people. They were, however, not paraded,” the officer said.

Vadodara Commissioner of Police Manoj Sashidhar said that he was not aware that the accused were paraded, but added that police officers must be supported at a time when they are attacked for doing their duty.

“I am not aware that the accused were paraded. However, the incident brings to light a patriarchal mindset of those who seek to undermine the law in force. The mob saw this officer as a vulnerable target just because she was a woman. I refuse to accept that a police officer should be seen as a gender. She is an officer of the force and she was assaulted for doing her duty. We will arrest all other accused who were part of this assault and make sure that the case stands as a deterrent to those who think they can subvert the law by taking it into their own hands,” said Sashidhar.

The woman sub-inspector was assaulted on Wednesday afternoon when a patrol team directed the street food stalls to shut as per the prohibitory laws in the area. According to the FIR, sub-inspector SJ Tomar was leading the patrol team when a verbal altercation began between vendors and the police team. The Fir stated that one of the accused, Rafiq Doodhwala, allegedly snatched Tomar’s wooden baton and hit on her head. As the police officers accompanying Tomar saw her fall on the ground with blood running down her head, the officers used force to disperse the crowd.

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