Gujarat police search Narmada canal to find remains of Telangana man allegedly killed in police custody

The 65-year-old Telangana resident was suspected to have been killed in police custody and dumped there in December 2019

The Gujarat police's CID (crime) on Tuesday launched a major search operation in Narmada main canal in Vadodara to trace the remains of a 65-year-old Telangana resident who is suspected to have been killed in police custody and dumped here in December 2019.

Superintendent of Police, CID, Girish Pandya, who is investigating the case, told DH, "We have started the search operation with the help of fire officials of Vadodara (Municipal) Corporation and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) at multiple spots." He later told reporters on the spot that "Search has been launched based on various leads that have come up during the probe." A senior officer told this paper that "All the six accused policemen are refusing to divulge anything. However, while piecing together some evidence, we came across hints that the accused may have dumped the body somewhere in the Narmada canal."

The search operation was launched after CID requested the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL) to stop water supply to empty the canal. CID officials said that since emptying water will lead to a drinking water crisis in Vadodara city, the search will be carried out in a phased manner. "Today, we have started searching in eight to nine km stretch of the canal out of a total 45 km," said the senior officer.

Later in the day, the police found skeletons which are said to be of animals. Officials said that they will examine the remains to authenticate it.

The CID is investigating the case on Gujarat High Court's order where a relative of Shaikh filed a habeas corpus petition. In the last order, the division bench of justices Sonia Gokani and N V Anjaria stated, "IO (investigating officer) is to constantly remind himself that this crime is allegedly committed while on duty where the corpus is said to have been tortured in custody and alleged to have been done away with mercilessly and the incident was glossed over till revealed in this petition. Let no stone be left unturned and every possible attempt be made to go to the root of the matter. There must not be any scope of either laxity or soft paddling at any stage of investigation which is not only impermissible, but would also prove to be deleterious for the system."

Shaikh had gone missing on December 10, 2019 from Vadodara. After family members failed to find him, his son-in-law Ibrahim Pathan lodged a missing complaint on January 31, 2020 at Sayajigunj police station. It was revealed that Shaikh had been picked up by Fatehgun police station officials on suspicion of being a "thief." He was allegedly beaten up and "tortured" by the accused policemen including police inspector D B Gohil and five of his juniors. CCTV footage of the police station found Shaikh's presence but the record of his exist couldn't be recovered as the cameras were allegedly switched off.

Apart from inspector Gohil, sub-inspector D M Rabari and four Lok Rakshak Dal constables-Pankaj Mavjibhai, Yogendrasinh Jilansinh, Rajeshbhai Savjibhai and Hiteshbhai Shambhubhai have been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder (IPC 304), destruction of evidence (IPC 201), acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention (IPC 34), among other charges. They are currently in jail in judicial custody.