The Panchmahals police have arrested a sub-inspector under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for “wilfully” neglecting his duty and allegedly altering an FIR on a complaint of gangrape by a Dalit girl and taking off certain names from the report. All those whose names were excluded from the new FIR were local BJP leaders.

The police action came after the Gujarat State Human Rights Commission last year ordered the Panchmahals DSP to register an FIR against Gadhvi and constable Arjun Koyabhai. The SHRC had passed the order while acting on a complaint by Ahmedabad-based human rights activist Valjibhai Patel.

Patel had moved the SHRC after the Panchmahals police authorities only took departmental action against the two policemen, ignoring their criminal culpability.

This is for the first time in Gujarat that policemen were booked and arrested under the provisions of Section 4 of the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The Indian Express had first reported on November 2, 2011, on how Gadhvi and Arjun tore the original FIR of the victim and then registered a new FIR.

Following the SHRC order, an FIR was registered against Gadhvi and Arjun at Shehra Police Station by the district police authorities in September last year.

In the FIR, apart from Section 4 of the Act, the two have been booked under various sections of IPC, including destruction of evidence, disobeying direction of law and framing incorrect record.

DSP (SC/ST Cell, Godhra) J V Raval said that following registration of the FIR, Gadhvi had proceeded on sick leave while evading arrest. “On Monday, a team of police caught Gadhvi from Amaraiwadi area of Ahmedabad from a flat. After producing him before a competent court, Gadhvi has been sent to Godhra sub-jail,” Raval said.

The original issue pertains to the alleged gangrape of a 20-year-old Dalit from Boidiya village of Santrampur taluka in the Panchmahals.

According to the details, the girl went missing on July 11, 2011 and was found near Halol in the Panchmahals on August 3. She lodged a complaint at Santrampur police station and named 14 men as accused who allegedly kept her in illegal custody at different places and raped her.

After registering the FIR, the Santrampur police transferred the case to the jurisdictional police station at Shehra where the officials made necessary entries and registered an FIR. Gadhvi was then heading the Shehra police station However, he later allegedly tore off the original FIR from the register and other entries in the Station Diary and registered a new FIR. The new FIR excluded names of certain accused which were there in the original FIR.

After a departmental inquiry ordered by the SP, Gadhvi was suspended and Arjun was found partially guilty and was fined Rs 300.

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