HC for registration of FIRs in 3 alleged police atrocity cases

The Gujarat High Court today ordered filing of FIRs in three separate cases of alleged police atrocity during the violence that had erupted over the Patel quota agitation on August 25.
The court also directed CID to probe these cases.
Justice J B Pardiwala of the High Court directed the police to register FIRs in the cases by tomorrow and directed CID Crime to start investigation in the cases of alleged police atrocity.
The High Court acted on the pleas filed by two city-based persons Harshad Kanani and Praful Borad, who have their houses in Rajdeep Housing Society and Gopalkrushna Housing Society in Bapunagar area here respectively, alleging that police had vandalised their vehicles on the night of August 25.

According to the city-based petitioners, a police team had stormed their societies and vandalised their vehicles. "Several police officers came in their vehicles and entered the society on the night of August 25 and started vandalizing the vehicles parked in the society," the petition, filed through advocate Dinesh Patel, said.
"The police officers damaged the vehicles parked in the society by pounding their batons and throwing stones on the glasspanes of the vehicles," the plea said.

Both the housing societies are located near Matrushakti Housing Society in Bapunagar where a 32-year-old youth Swetang Patel had allegedly been forcibly taken away by police and he later died in police custody.

The high court also ordered a CID probe into two separate petitions filed by residents of Patan town-- Mukesh Patel and Kaushal Patel-- who alleged that police had beaten them and damaged their vehicles.
After hearing all the three petitions separately, the High Court directed the cases to be probed by state CID which has been investigating the incidents of alleged police excesses during the quota agitation.
Violence had erupted across the state after police detained leader of the quota agitation Hardik Patel, who has been spearheading the movement to get reservation under OBC quota for his community, on August 25. Ten people, including a police constable lost their lives in the violence that followed the detention.